Blood and Coin
by Vaidhra
Summary: My name is Arissa Daurana, and I am a master assassin in the Whalers. I hold no secrets from my Master and my loyalty to him is without question. Yet neither my Master, my brothers, nor I could have foreseen the things that would befall us after our highest-risk contract yet. There was only one question we were asking ourselves: Will we survive the inevitable consequences?
1. The Assassination of an Empress

**Chapter 1**

**The Assassination of an Empress**

* * *

I tapped my fingers against the hilt of my blade, in the silence that surrounded my brothers and I. Neither of us could believe that today was finally the day, that we were finally standing inside of the water lock. It had taken seven months of scouting runs, of bribing, of waiting, all just to be here. And we knew the Empress would be standing on her pavilion.

Our Master included, we were a team of five. Lurk, Carlo, Fergus, and I each held a task that was suited to our particular talents. Lurk and I were operating as a team of our own. She would scout out troublesome targets, then relay their locations to me. I would then proceed to hunt them down and eliminate them, clearing a path for our Master, Carlo, and Fergus.

Carlo and Fergus were paramount to the success of our contract. Though, in truth, we were gambling with their lives. We did not know what would happen, once the deed was done. We did not know if the City Watch would be content with capturing them, interrogating them, and executing them at a later date, or if they would kill my brothers on sight. It was doubtful that my brothers would allow themselves to be captured. Yet, if they somehow were, we would break them out of Coldridge Prison at a later date.

Breaking into the water lock of Dunwall Tower, despite all the bribes we had made, still proved highly difficult. The pressure was getting to us, and our Master's intimidating gaze only made matters worse for our focus. Deep down, we all knew he was waiting for one of us to slip up, and make a novice's mistake. We were four of his top assassins, his elite. He expected meticulous precision from us. If we somehow failed our contract…

Let's just say we would be lucky if our Master was content with just outright killing us. There are many things he could do to us that would make us wish for our suicide needles…

So far, everything had fortunately gone according to plan. Yet, that meant very little in our line of work. One of the first lessons we learn…It is very wise for you to always expect the unexpected.

"Nervous, Arissa?" Master Daud said, his gaze on my fingers. "Scared, perhaps?"

"No, Master," I replied, ceasing to tap my fingers. "Of course not."

Master Daud's gaze shifted up to meet mine. "I'd be nervous, too. Not knowing whether or not your Master plans to kill you…Not knowing what will happen once we step out of the confines of this room…You do realize, since I plan to leave Lurk here to prepare the bindings for the child, that if your brothers fail, the fate of the contract lies in your hands?"

"Yes, Master. I am aware of that."

"I would hope so. It'd be a shame if I had to waste your talents."

I stayed silent.

"Arissa, you're on point," Master Daud commanded. "Let's move!"

"Yes, Master!" Carlo, Fergus, and I said in unison.

I opened the control room door and took point. Master Daud, Carlo, and Fergus were behind me. As I crept up the stone staircase, I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of my blade, sliding it out silently from my belt. Turning the corner, I found a lone City Watchman, staring out at the vast Wrenhaven River. I held my left hand out, spreading my fingers in a specific mannerism to indicate that I was dispatching a troublesome target.

I crept up behind the Watchman, silent as a cat. Once close enough, I placed my hand over his mouth to muffle his screams. I tilted my blade, stabbing into his side at an angle, so that my blade pierced his heart. The Watchman's struggle against me was brief. I had learned to tell when my target's life faded away. The Watchman's had. I heard three transversals behind me, as my Master and my brothers went up onto the rooftop above the water lock.

I withdrew my blade, then I dragged the former Watchman behind a pile of boxes. I wiped the blood on my blade away on the inside of his coat. I sheathed my blade, transversing myself onto the rooftop.

That was when I heard a gunshot.

I ran across the rooftop to Master Daud's side. He was crouched behind the crenellation of the roof, tapping his fingers against it. I knew he was displeased. Once I was at his side, I crouched down. For the first time, I cast my eyes upon the Empress's extravagant pavilion. Dark realization then came over me.

The Empress was not alone.

I cursed in Serkonan under my breath.

Our employer, the Royal Spymaster Hiram Burrows, had deceived us. He _assured _us that the Empress's bodyguard, Royal Protector Corvo Attano, would still be traveling home from his journey across the Isles! Corvo was not expected home for another two days, _at least!_ And yet, there he was. The Royal Protector, who had returned from his trip…

_Two days early._

The Royal Protector stood in front of the Empress and her daughter, sword and smoking pistol in hand. I could see his face from here, and his expression unnerved me. His expression was a mask of darkness, of pure, cold, murderous rage. Undoubtedly, he wondered who would dare to attack the Empress.

Yet, if the whispers were to be believed, Corvo Attano is not only the Royal Protector. He is also the father of Emily Kaldwin. However, no one can prove nor deny the incriminating rumor. We have not been able to, either. It is a very well-kept secret…

I knew the dark truth of this, and my heart sank. If it is true that the Royal Protector is Emily Kaldwin's father, then…

My brothers did not stand a chance against Corvo.

Master Daud and I watched as the Royal Protector struck fast, and struck true. In truth, I was awestruck, yet…horrified. I had to watch as Corvo killed my brothers, with such _skill. _It greatly surpassed that of my brothers…and perhaps even my own. _He is the Royal Protector for a reason._

Carlo and Fergus were combating Corvo together, one trying to make an opening for the other to strike. Against any other opponent, that would have worked. Yet, it would not work against the Royal Protector.

Carlo had approached the Royal Protector from the right flank. Yet, he saw this coming and spun, swiftly blocking Carlo's attack with the loud ring of steel against steel. Carlo was knocked off balance, desperately trying to recover himself in time.

He never did.

The Royal Protector had aimed his pistol, and fired.

Carlo now lies twitching on the ground, taking his final breaths. He would soon die.

Fergus tried to use the opening he was given. He was known as one of the best swordsmen in our brotherhood. Yet, while he was agile and cunning, the Royal Protector was ten times so. He exploited the opening, and parried Fergus's strike away, knocking him off balance. Fergus fell to the ground, though he quickly transversed himself back onto his feet, and behind the Royal Protector.

It was what Corvo had wanted.

He stabbed his blade behind him, and caught Fergus on it.

I watched as Fergus lost his grasp on life, and eventually, the Royal Protector let him slump to the ground.

And with one final shudder…Fergus was dead, alongside Carlo.

The bodies of my brothers transversed away. I could sense how angry my Master was. Carlo and Fergus were _elite _assassins. Taking on the Royal Protector should have been an easy task for them. Instead, they had been killed as quickly as though they were an irritating fly.

With the threat seemingly over, Lady Emily ran up to the Royal Protector and wrapped her arms around him. From here, I could hear her crying in fear. She refused to let go of him. Even the Empress came to Corvo, placing her delicate hand upon his shoulder.

For the first time in my life as a Whaler, I had no desire to follow my orders. I was absolutely terrified to. I did not want to meet the same fate as my brothers. Yet, if I did not follow orders…

I swallowed. I did not want to even imagine the consequences I would face.

I had a sick feeling that I was being sent to my death. Though…perhaps, I would not. Perhaps I might actually stand a _slight _chance at besting the Royal Protector. My Master did once say that my arcane bond with him was "unusually strong." Carlo and Fergus had not been very gifted magically. They could only transverse. I, however, am equally strong in both swordsmanship and magic.

Yet…

Could I succeed where my brothers failed? Could I truly combat the Royal Protector, one-on-one?

"Master," I said. "What is your will?"

Master Daud's tone had darkened greatly. His expression fared no better. "We're not leaving here until Jessamine Kaldwin is dead. I want you to tether Corvo. And Arissa?" he said. "If you fail me and survive, I want you to consider what happened to your brothers mercy."

I nodded. "At your command, Master."

I lunged forward, transversing myself onto the pavilion. The Royal Protector's back was to me. _By the Outsider, I got off lucky. _I raised my right hand into the air, ensnaring the Royal Protector within a tethering, suspending him high off the ground and completely immobilizing him.

Master Daud transversed onto the pavilion next. Lady Emily let out a shrill cry as he seized her small, delicate wrist. She was frozen in place, too scared to move.

"Get _away _from my daughter, you monster!" the Empress yelled bravely at my Master, forcing herself between Lady Emily and him. She actually managed to push him away, with strength she summoned from I knew not where.

My Master backhanded her, and she stumbled back. He wrapped his hand tightly around her neck, and forced her up against one of the pavilion's pillars. He raised his blade high in the air.

"Corvo!" she cried out.

My Master shoved his blade into her abdomen, and I saw it come out her back. In that moment, Time seemed to grow very, very still. As Lady Emily stared at her mother, whose life began to ebb away before her very eyes. As I still held Corvo with my tethering. As the Empress's life began to ebb away before our very eyes.

"Jessamine!" Corvo yelled.

"_Mommy!_" Lady Emily shrieked. She watched in horror as my Master withdrew his blade, and pushed the dying Empress to the ground. Blood quickly began to pool around her stilling mother. Lady Emily tried to crawl to her.

"No! Emily, just run!" Corvo commanded her. "Get away from them!"

She began to sob, yet listened to him. As she got up from the ground, I stepped forward and wrapped my free arm around her, lifting her up into my embrace. All the while, I held my tethering strong in my hand.

She struggled against me and was screaming, "_Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!"_

I looked briefly at Master Daud, and he nodded at me. I released my tethering, and transversed back to our outpost. I now held Lady Emily in both my arms. She was thrashing violently. Kicking me. Sinking her teeth into my forearm to bite me, in the vain hope that the pain would cause me to drop her.

She had no idea how accustomed to pain I had become. Her biting was nothing more to me than a slight annoyance. I did not feel it.

"You can't do this to me!" she cried. "My mother will hurt you for this!"

"Your mother is dead, foolish child," I said. "She will never come back."

My words took every remaining ounce of fight out of her, as the realization began to hit her. "N-n-n-n-no! You're…you're…lying! My mother will…S-s-she will…" Tears spilled down her cheeks, as though they were a waterfall.

Lurk finally came up the staircase. She looked at me, and then at Lady Emily, tilting her head down as she examined her. "This is the Empress's daughter, hmm?" she said. "Well…aren't you a pretty little thing."

"W-w-why…Why are you…doing this!?" Lady Emily said through sobs.

"Honestly? Because we were paid to," Lurk answered, taking the girl from my arms. "Now hold still, you little brat." First came the blindfold, then the gag, and finally, Lurk bound Lady Emily's hands together. Then, she passed the child back into my arms.

Master Daud finally transversed into the room, wiping the fresh blood away on his sleeve.

"It took you long enough, sir," Lurk said to him. "When are we breaking the others out of Coldridge?"

"We aren't," he replied. "They're dead."

Lurk scoffed. "With all due respect, I told you that they were going to be worthless, sir. We should have let Arissa kill Jessamine, and let her take the fall for it."

"Enough, Lurk. I'll fill you in on the details later. For now, return home and make sure their bodies are there. Otherwise, I'm going to have you searching the whole damn city for them."

"Whatever you say, sir," she replied, and transversed off.

Master Daud turned to face me. "Arissa, you're coming with me. The Empress's daughter still needs to be delivered to the Pendletons."

"Yes, Master," I said.

* * *

Master Daud and I had transversed ourselves to the outskirts of the Estate District, where a set of carriage tracks ran through a dark alley. This was our meeting point for the Pendleton twins, Morgan and Custis. No one was certain what the purpose was of running the carriage tracks here, as the outskirts of the district was where the poor and homeless tended to reside. It was also where the high-born lords and ladies often abused their power over others.

Undoubtedly, you are asking why we were meeting with the Pendletons. Why we assassinated the Empress. Well…There was a plan.

Royal Spymaster Hiram Burrows hired us to kill Jessamine Kaldwin because he believed she was too…lax, on many issues. Furthermore, he did _not _approve of her (and Lady Emily's, for that matter) closeness to the Royal Protector. And even _further _still, he thought the common people of Dunwall were too lazy. Truth be told, I do not care to delve into all the specifics. I am an assassin, not a conniving politician. My line of work thrives on turmoil. And when dealing with nobles, there never seems to be a shortage of potential customers. Yet, I digress.

There were two things the Royal Spymaster hired us on to do. The first task was to kill the Empress. The second task was to kidnap her daughter. Soon after the assassination, the Royal Spymaster would become the Lord Regent. The Pendleton twins would safeguard the child until the Rat Plague outbreak matter at the Golden Cat was settled. In about five-to-six month's time, the Royal Protector would receive an "anonymous tip" that the heir to the throne was being held hostage there by some minor nobleman that was expendable.

Under the orders of the Lord Regent, the Royal Protector would lead a contingent of City Watchmen to the Golden Cat, where they would discover Lady Emily. Once Lady Emily was brought back to Dunwall Tower, the Lord Regent would then try to manipulate the Royal Protector, and the soon-to-be Empress to his will.

In all honesty, I saw many, many flaws in this plan. I do not believe the Royal Protector is easily manipulated. And given the fact that the Royal Spymaster cannot even supply us with accurate information; does that not tell you how his plan is doomed to failure from the start?

I could not help but scoff. The Royal Spymaster is a conniving, sniveling little weasel of a man. Truth be told, he even looks like a weasel. Then again, I do not see many differences among members of the nobility. They are all the same to me, with the only difference between them being some are far more…unfettered, with how they spend their coin. Namely, how much they are willing to spend in order to have us eliminate their competition.

I was growing tired of Lady Emily's endless sobbing and thrashing, which had started anew. I was about to reach into my bolt pouch to pull out a sleep dart to inject a sleep toxin into her system, but a harsh glare from Master Daud kept me from doing so. Finally, after another few minutes, we heard the sound of a carriage coming down the tracks.

The Pendletons had finally arrived.

The carriage came to a screeching halt, and moments later, its door flung open. In it sat the Pendleton twins. They never once stepped out of the carriage, believing that the ground beneath them was "tainted." I did not need to ask them. I could read their facial expressions well enough. Morgan and Custis were identical twins, from what we understood. Both of them had permanent scowls etched onto their faces, and the same short hairstyle and black hair. The only way of telling them apart was by their height, clothes, and the pitch of their voices.

From what I knew of the Pendleton family, the twins had a younger brother, named Treavor. Treavor was supposedly bearable, unlike the twins. The twins took much pride in their power, never once being afraid to use it against others to get what they want. Yet, that is Dunwall for you. Everyone in this city does that.

"You're late," said Morgan Pendleton. "I am not paying you to be late, Daud."

"Yes," said Custis Pendleton. "We've had to circle the block _twice _because of you."

"I told you that the job would be completed at noon, and that we would be here by dusk. We're on time," Master Daud retorted. "Also, the last time I checked, you were still paying me."

Both brothers snorted rather ungentlemanly. Custis spoke. "We should have brought an Overseer with us. The Abbey could use a good donation, don't you think, Morgan?"

"Pendleton," I said in a callous, dark voice. "You would be wise to pay us and take this blubbering child from me, before I decide to clean house of the Pendletons."

Both of the brothers' eyebrows shot up at my mask-distorted voice. "Is that a woman, Daud?" Morgan asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he answered. "But either way, my Whaler is right. Follow through with your end of the bargain, or things are going to go to the Void very quickly."

"And you would be wise not to make threats against _us_. Here, take your coin," Morgan said.

He took an ornate box that was on the seat next to him and offered it to my Master. Master Daud took the box from him and opened it, his steely-blue eyes scrutinizing the contents. Satisfied, he nodded to me. I walked forward, Lady Emily struggling against my movements. I proceeded to literally drag her across the ground. At that, she stopped struggling against me, and fought against Morgan and Custis instead, as I handed her over. She made them put a lot of effort into pulling her into the carriage. She ultimately failed her vain fight, and was pulled inside.

"If our paths ever cross again, Assassin," Morgan threatened, "you'll be greeted by the Overseers next time."

Master Daud smiled wryly. "If our paths ever crossed again, you'd never know it. A pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen," he concluded with a mocking bow.

Custis slammed the carriage door shut, harder than necessary, and they drove off down the tracks.

I looked at my Master, crossing my arms over my chest. "One day, I would rather enjoy slicing their pretty little necks open."

"Give it time. I'm sure someone will pay us well to get rid of them."

"Master, if I may ask…How much coin have we made off of our work today?"

"Twenty-thousand for Jessamine Kaldwin, and ten-thousand for the child. But I wasn't expecting to lose two of my best men on this job. You left at an opportune time, Arissa. Corvo was stunned long enough for me to escape. I believe he'll be taking the fall for the assassination. And for that improvisation, the price of the job just went up another ten thousand."

I laughed. "I will bet that the Royal Spymaster will not be happy about that."

"Then he shouldn't have hired us…or for that matter, lied to us. Let's go home, Arissa. Our work is done, and there is much more that needs to be tended to."

I bowed my head. "As you wish, Master."

With that, we transversed away. He was right. The Spymaster should not have lied to us. I can only assume our Master would have future plans to address that. Though for now, our work was completed.

_Rest in peace, my dear brothers. I will miss you._


	2. Our Solemn Night

**Chapter 2 **

**Our Solemn Night**

* * *

The Flooded District was once known as the Rudshore Financial District. Though, that was before the seawall broke, and flooded out the entire district. After that happened, looters took whatever artwork and other expensive luxuries were not nailed down or destroyed by the waters, while thieves, thugs, and civilians alike came here to hide from the prying eyes of the City Watch and the Abbey of the Everyman.

Central Rudshore and the Greaves Refinery were our territories. We called Central Rudshore our home, because of the Chamber of Commerce building. Yet, it was not common knowledge that we resided in this district. Per Master Daud's orders, those who came near the Rudshore Rail Station or lingered too long on Agroosh Way are to be assumed hostile, and executed on sight.

Granted, the Rail Station was not the only way into Central Rudshore. A tunnel network ran underneath the commerce building, and both the Rail Station and Rudshore Gate required a key to get access to. The Rail Station key was passed between the highest ranking assassins (I being one of many such key holders) on sentry duty, while the Rudshore Gate key was held only by our Master. If we needed to use the Rudshore Gate for an assignment, we had to ask him to unlock it for us.

Master Daud and I were using the tunnel network to get back to the commerce building. The tunnels were a long, dark, twisting labyrinth. Water leaked through the stone walls, splashing against puddles formed on the ground in that ever irritating _drip-drop, drop-drip, drip-drop._

I kept a steady pace beside my Master, surreptitiously observing him. There was something about his demeanor that was off, though I knew not why. It bothered me.

"I know when I'm being watched, Arissa," Master Daud said suddenly, his voice reverberating slightly in the tunnel.

"Forgive me, Master," I said, averting my gaze from him. "You just seem…troubled. Have I done something that displeases you?"

"No, Arissa, you haven't," he replied.

"If I have done nothing that displeases you, may I inquire as to what is wrong, Master?"

"This is nothing that concerns you."

"As you wish, then, Master," I said.

If Master Daud did not want to be pressed on a topic, then it was wise not to press him. Though, I still could not help but wonder what was wrong with him. I have never seen him acting…peculiarly. Even that does not properly describe it, yet it…suffices, I suppose.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking in silence, we finally came to the Rudshore Gate. Master Daud reached into his bolt pouch and produced the key for the gate. He unlocked it, and the two of us walked through it. Afterwards, he relocked the door and stashed the key back in his bolt pouch.

"You're dismissed for now, Arissa," Master Daud said. "I'll have need of you soon. Try to get some rest, in the meantime."

"Yes, Master," I said, placing my right fist on my chest then slashing it downwards to my side. This was our bow, though it was typically performed with sword in hand.

I transversed myself up into the commerce building. I took off my vapor mask and threaded its straps through my belt. I shook out my scarlet curls, trying to get them to stop clinging so annoyingly to my face. I despised it when my hair did that, especially while I am working in the field. I cannot begin to describe how irritating it becomes. _Hmm…perhaps I should do something about this, soon._

I heard someone weeping in the training area. Curious, I decided to investigate. I carefully crept towards the room. My boots were coated in a special resin that eliminated almost all the sound I made, even when running, yet the floorboards of the commerce building still creaked, if you stepped on them just right. I hid behind one of the glass panels that separated the training area from the hallway, and peered inside.

Lurk was sitting on the floor, wrapping Fergus's body in a burial shroud. Carlo's body still needed to be shrouded. Lurk had her mask off, and I noticed her turquoise eyeshadow running down her cheeks. I was…stunned. Never before had I ever seen Billie Lurk _crying_.

"Why did you have to die?" I heard her murmur. "Why did you have to leave me stuck with these…" she trailed off.

As much as Lurk and I wanted to murder each other in our sleep (I do not use that as a metaphor, either. She has tried to, before), she was still my sister, so I…tried to care about her. In a time like this, I thought I should at least try and show her I did. I never knew or understood why she hated me. And perhaps I never will.

I stepped into the room, and Lurk looked up at me with her deep brown eyes. Again, I was stunned. None of the typical hatred she harbored for me was in her expression. Something told me she was hiding it. After all, she did have a reputation to keep up as the tactless woman who had nothing but disdain for her brothers, and sister. _And I bet she wonders why our brothers will listen to me when I command them, yet they will never listen to a bloody word she says._

"Come to laugh at me, Arissa?" she said in her usual vitriolic tone. _Of course she was hiding it…_

"If this was any other occasion, perhaps I would be. You would do exactly the same thing to me. Yet, I will not. Not today," I said. "It would be disrespectful to our fallen. I will not ridicule you for your closeness to Fergus. I was proud to have him as one of my brothers."

She sighed. "When Daud said they were dead, I didn't believe it. I knew it was going to be worthless bringing them on this mission with us, because they would slow us down. Why couldn't you have made yourself useful, Arissa? Why couldn't you have died instead of them?"

I crossed my arms. "If the _Royal Protector_ had not had his back to me when I went onto the pavilion, I would be lying right there with my brothers." Inwardly, I sighed. This is what I get for trying to care for the person who wants to kill me.

"Wait…What do you mean the Royal Protector?"

"Our brothers were killed by Corvo Attano. I would be surprised if you thought this was the City Watch's doing. They do not possess even half of the skill Corvo does."

Lurk scoffed. "Trying to ridicule me in other ways, I see."

I sighed. "Lurk, why are we doing this now, of all times? This is a day where we should not be, and yet you still wish to dance this endless dance with me. Please, do explain to me what I have ever done to you, in the past ten years, to make you hate me so."

"You want an answer, you little Serkonan whelp? I have one for you."

"Serkonan whelp, now? I have not heard that one before. Tell me this "_answer_" of yours."

"You're still _alive_, and two assassins _better _than you are dead."

I rolled my eyes. _If they were better than me, they would not be dead, and I would not be their commander. _Though I did not dare say that aloud. "Even for you, that…is incredibly low," I said, turned on my heel, and started to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Arissa…Wait."

I turned back around to look at her, with a glare in my eyes.

I watched as her expression started to convulse. "Will you…will you help me shroud them?" she asked in a barely audible murmur.

"Help _you_?" I said. _By the Outsider, has the Void frozen over? _"No. I will not help _you_. Yet, I will do what any _good _commander would, and help lay the mortal bodies of my brothers to rest. They were under my command, as well as yours. It is the right thing to do."

I went over and sat down on my knees, next to Carlo's body. I took the burial shroud in my hands and slowly began to peel away his uniform. The bullet had not damaged it much past the small hole it left behind. Upon finding the bullet's impact point, I shuddered. The wound was far more gruesome than it should have been. It was very strange. Bullets cannot do damage like this, unless they are of a special round type, which I doubted the Royal Protector used.

I shook my head. I could not explain this.

I began to hear the high-pitched moan of a bone charm. I quickly realized it was Carlo's. Yet, its "song" did not sound…right. I have heard the "song" of the charms many times before, as I will occasionally hear my own, but this…sounded drastically different compared to mine.

After a few moments, I decided it was safer to remove the bone charm last. I continued my task of wrapping my brother in the burial shroud. All the while, his charm kept "singing" to me, trying to invade my thoughts. It underestimated my willpower, and I kept pushing it away, though it was persistent, and kept trying to call me to it…to get me to claim it as my own. As far as I knew, one could not claim previously bound bone charms. I refused to listen to it, and kept working.

Lurk finally broke down and started to help me wrap the final pieces of the shroud around Carlo.

"Why didn't you remove his bone charm?" she asked.

"Because I do not think this is an ordinary charm. It does not sound right."

"The charms don't "sing," Arissa. I _order _you to remove the charm."

I glared at her. She had me backed into a corner, which she did to me on a near-constant basis. It was the best way for her to exercise her power over me, and by the Outsider, did she enjoy flaunting it. If I did not follow a direct order, then she could get me into serious trouble with Master Daud. And who would Master Daud believe first? I, nothing more than a secondary commander, or Lurk, his lieutenant?

Without any choice, I untied the bone charm from around Carlo's neck, and held it in my gloved hand to examine it. I suddenly began to feel very sick, just from _holding _it. The demented "song" I heard began to intensify, and the charm…began to emit a faint purple…light.

_What's…happening?_

Suddenly, a firm hand grasped mine, removed the bone charm from it, then let go of my hand. I coughed, and waited for my head to stop spinning. After a long moment, I looked up at…Master Daud.

"What were you doing with this charm, Arissa?" he asked.

"Lurk ordered me to remove it…I did not want to, and she made me do it anyways…"

He glared down at Lurk. "You could have killed her with this, Billie. Out of all the days you choose to do this, you do this on the day of our greatest victory? On the day we must bury two of our own?" he said coldly. "I'm more than disappointed with you. Get out of my sight. And while you're at it, prepare the funeral pyre. Do something useful, rather than sit around trying to kill a Whaler who could best you with one hand tied behind her back."

That struck a nerve in Lurk, yet she did not say anything. She placed one hand on Carlo and the other on Fergus, then transversed away with the bodies.

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants and coat.

Master Daud looked at me with a gaze I could not quite discern. "Next time, Arissa, remember that going near Lurk is dangerous. Especially for you."

I nodded. "Yes, Master. It is a mistake I will not repeat in the future," I paused. "If I may ask…What is that charm?"

"It's a purchase I regret making in Karnaca," he replied. "It's a corrupted bone charm."

"Corrupted, Master?"

"Yes, corrupted. There was a woman in Karnaca who would trade for bone charms and other pieces of whalebone. Somehow, she figured out how to crack apart the charms, and fuse them, along with the whalebone, back together. She promised that this charm would be able to break sharp metal on my skin. And it worked."

"If it worked, why did you stop using it, Master?"

"Because each time it worked, one of my teeth would turn black and fall out. After the third time, I gave it to Carlo," he paused. "As it seems, the charm only worked against swords, not bullets."

"The impact point of the bullet…It was far more gruesome than it should have been. What…did the charm do to Carlo? And what was it trying to do to me?"

"He began to rot. And now, I expect the charm is trying to find a new host to attach itself to. Namely, you. Only corrupted charms like to attach themselves to practitioners. I don't know why it wants you. Either way, given the circumstances, you're the only one who can destroy the charm, now."

"But, Master…The ritual. I…I cannot handle its power. Can I?"

"Arissa, the corrupted charm may have taken a piece of you. To be rid of its influence, you need to destroy it. As you know, Fergus's charm needs to be destroyed anyways. You don't have much of a choice in this. Either you take up the charm, or you destroy it and risk destroying yourself."

"This…This is what you said you wanted to discuss with me, is it not, Master?"

"Yes. I had planned to tell you I wanted you to perform the ritual," he said. "Make your choice, Arissa. Stop delaying."

I nodded. "I will destroy the charm. I refuse to allow it the satisfaction of turning me into a horrid creature."

"A wise decision," he replied. "Now, go get some rest. I'll send someone to get you when we're ready to begin the funeral."

"Yes, Master," I said, and walked out of the room.

I climbed out of the window of the commerce building and dropped down onto the accessway. I walked across it until I reached a rooftop, and a lone window with a few boxes underneath it. This was my quarters, which I shared with one of my brothers, Aeolos. We stayed in this room because it had two beds, and because we were closer to the Rail Station. We also had two ways (three, if you count our transversal) out of the room, one being a balcony which could get you higher up on the rooftops, and the window we used as our entrance into the room.

There was also another reason why we shared the room. It was safer. In the Flooded District, it was wise not to stay alone, even in Central Rudshore. Even though Central Rudshore was more intact than the rest of Rudshore, a lot of work had to be done to alter the area to suit our needs. Yes, there was still a lot of water damage, yet compared to what I have seen, what we all have seen, we knew it could be far worse. Our only major issue was the rats, so we took it as a…small victory. More or less.

I watched seven of my brothers die from the Rat Plague, because they were bitten by rats. They did not want to turn into a shuffling corpse of flies and stinging insects. It was horrible. At first, they did not realize they had the plague. Then they got sicker, and sicker, and sicker still…and that was when they bled from the eyes. They knew what their fate was. They did not want to become Weepers. They asked those of us they trusted most to kill them with their own blades.

I, myself…killed four of my own brothers, _because they asked me to_. And each time, it had not gotten any easier…These were men I had known since I became a Whaler. And all I could do for them, as their last wish, was give them a quick, clean death…All because there was no cure for the plague yet. Yes, there are ways to prevent the plague, but we cannot scavenge Sokolov's Elixir or Piero's Remedy. It is too dangerous for us to venture out from the Flooded District, unless we are on contract or running out of supplies. And we're not part of the City Watch, so we, like many, many others in Dunwall, have to fend for ourselves.

So, per Master Daud's orders…Any rat we see dies, because we do not know which rats have the plague and which do not. They _all _die, no exception. Unless we are desperate for food, then in which case…

No. I…do not want to get on that subject at the moment…

I took my blade from my belt and placed it down on the end table. Then, I unattached my wristbow from its track on my left forearm, setting it down, along with my bolt pouch, next to my blade.

I collapsed onto my bed, and stared aimlessly at the water-stained ceiling.

It had been a very long day. And if the anticipation of killing the Empress was not enough for me…Now I was anxious about what would happen when I performed the bone charm destroying ritual.

I sat up, and took a clean off of the bookshelf above my head. I took my blade, very carefully running the cloth over the razor-sharp blade. I had not gotten all the blood off of my blade after I killed that guard, so I needed to clean it off. It was still sticky, so it came off with relative ease, fortunately going all onto the cloth. Once I had my blade cleaned, I placed it back on the end table and placed the bloodied cloth in a small box with other cloths I needed to wash, and placed the box back up on my bookshelf.

Then I buried my head underneath my pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

"Arissa," a soft voice said, then shook my shoulder, rousing me from my sleep.

I rubbed my eyes, looking at whomever it was who stood over me. It took me a few moments, before I realized it was Kieron who stood before me. Sometimes I forget what a lot of my brothers truly look like underneath the mask. Kieron had the marking of the arcane bond swirled around his right eye. His eyes were a muddied blue, and his short hair dark brown. He was Serkonan, like me.

"Wake up, sleepy," he said, smiling.

"I am awake," I muttered and got up out of bed. "Is it…time?"

Kieron's smile faded, and he nodded gravely.

I picked up my blade and slid it through the loop on my belt. Then I took off my left glove, knowing I would not need it, since I was the one performing the ritual.

Kieron placed his hand on my shoulder. "Arissa, whatever happens…Don't die tonight. We can't bear the thought of not having you as a commander. You're the only other person who keeps us in line, aside from our Master." He dropped his hand, and transversed away.

Using Master Daud as my focus, I transversed myself to the Greaves Refinery. The sky was pitch black, yet I could tell we were standing on an abandoned whaling ship out at sea near the Refinery. The moon gave off a very faint glow, barely enough to illuminate the ship. The only other source of light came from the torch Master Daud held in his hand. The howling wind and the crackling of the torch's fire were the only sounds we could hear. It was eerily quiet in Rudshore this night, and it was…unnerving, to say the least.

The funeral pyre was set in the center of the deck. My brothers were either standing or sitting around various locations on the ship. My eyes were well-adjusted to the darkness, and I could tell that all of them had their masks off. That, in itself, was _very _rare.

Lurk was standing next to Master Daud on his right. I went over and stood on his left. Once I was next to him, he began to speak.

"As you all know, today was the day Empress Jessamine Kaldwin died by our hands. But just like the Empress, Carlo and Fergus's lives were lost. This contract could not have been completed without the help of them, as well as Lurk and Arissa," he paused. "Carlo and Fergus were killed by Royal Protector Corvo Attano. Knowing that their death was certain, they still attempted to combat him, and therefore, they died bravely. On this solemn night, we honor their sacrifice. We set their mortal bodies to the flame, that they may be reunited with our previously fallen brothers.

"Neither we, nor the natural philosophers, know where we go when we die, but wherever it may be, whether it's to the Outsider in the Void, or another higher power in a different plane of existence, we know that Carlo and Fergus now rest peacefully."

Master Daud then threw the torch onto the pyre. It burst into flames, quickly enveloping the bodies. He turned to me, seized my wrist, and reached into his bolt pouch. He produced the regular bone charm and the corrupted one, pressing them into my gloved hand and closing my fingers around them.

"Good luck, Arissa," he murmured.

I stepped closer to the pyre and took a deep, nervous breath. It was my turn to speak.

"The price we pay for the lives we lead is often our death. In our line of work, a common saying is "_Mors certa, hora incerta._" It means "Death is certain, the hour is uncertain." We take the lives of men and women, of nobles and peasants, of good men and bad men. Whether we kill for the "greater good" or whether we kill to aid in the reign of chaos, our lives will, at one point or another, be taken from us too soon. May the lives of our dear brothers live on in our memories. Let us take peace ourselves knowing that they now rest in a better place, and that they are reunited with those they cared for deeply in this life."

_This is it…The moment of truth…_

The corrupted charm began to try and influence me once again. I refused to let it corrupt me. Even as it tried sickening me into submission. Even as its "song" rang loudly in my ears. Even as my own bone charm began to protest and vibrate against my skin. And even as the corrupted bone charm made me feel pain's embrace, for the first time in…months? Years?

Well…It certainly would not like what I was about to do next.

And for that matter…neither did I.

I took a deep breath, dropped the uncorrupted bone charm into my left hand, and held both my hands high up, over the pyre and to the skies. I yelled to the darkened skies, "_Constantia et virtute, vox et praeterea nihil. Carpe noctem! Ego homini Lupus, penitusque medullis sanquinis humani flagrat sitis. Memento mori, requiescat in pace!"_

_By firmness and courage, a voice and nothing more. Seize the night! I am Wolf to mankind, and a thirst for human blood burned his inmost heart. Remember death, rest in peace!_

I dropped the bone charms into the blazing inferno. Fergus's bone charm began to "sing," upon touching the fire. The corrupted charm wailed hideously. I was cringing. The song was _very _loud. Every muscle in my body was tense. It felt like my magic was literally being ripped out of me.

_I am not done yet…I have been through worse. I can do this!_

I took my blade from my belt, keeping my left-hand over the fire. I cut a long, deep crimson line across my palm, the blood steadily dripping from the self-inflicted wound and into the fire, coating the bone charms. I watched as my blood began to boil, being absorbed into the bone charms. The "song" suddenly became too much for me to bear. I cried out in agony, my blade dropping from my hand and clattering onto the ship's deck. I hit the deck, hard. I was writhing. _Something is not right…What is happening to me!?_

Master Daud came to my side instantly, and he dragged me away from the pyre, as the fire intensified. It coruscated from orange and crimson, to bright blue and dark purple. The bone charms suddenly exploded, a deadly plume of shards and dust flying all over the ship. When the plume settled, and the fire died down, my head felt…clear. I could not hear the "songs" anymore. Yet, the agony was still there. It made sure to make its presence known to me.

Master Daud was holding me in his arms. Lurk did not even bother to look and see if I was alive or dead. He carefully put me onto my feet, and I had to put my hand on his shoulder to remain upright.

Okay…maybe my head was not so clear after all…

_Why is…everything getting darker?_

"Are you alright, Arissa?" Master Daud asked, sounding concerned.

All around the ship, my brothers stared at me in absolute shock. The pyre was softly glowing four different colors, now. It illuminated the dark night strangely. _It is still getting darker…_I felt like I should have been happy at the fact I survived, and yet…

"Master, I…I think…I….t-think…"

That was when I fell to the deck once more, all consciousness lost.


	3. A Storm Is Coming

**Chapter 3 **

**A Storm Is Coming**

* * *

Slowly, consciousness came back to me. Immediately, I felt myself tensing. Something was wrong. When I opened my eyes, I…was not in the Flooded District. The skies around me were odd shades of blue and black, and I was lying in an elegant stone pavilion. Next to me lays the body of Jessamine Kaldwin…with an unnaturally dark cloud swirling above her corpse.

I rolled away from the corpse and the cloud, transversing myself onto my feet. My hand instinctively went for my blade that was not there. The air around me grew colder, and colder, and colder, until it penetrated through my industrial leather uniform. The cloud slowly turned wraithlike, though I could not make out any features. It simply floated above the corpse, black smoke writhing off and around its body.

A gentle gust of wind blew an old, shriveled piece of paper towards me. It landed perfectly at my feet. The figure gestured for me to pick it up. Hesitantly, I reached down and did. The note read simply: _YOU HELPED KILL HER. _Those were the only words on the page, and they repeated at least twenty times, nearly filling the entire page.

The page fell from my hand as realization hit me. "You drew me here…This is the Void," I said aloud. "And you…You are the one who gave my Master his gifts, the very ones I share…"

"_Yes,_" said the Outsider. "_We have also spoken before, you and I, but until now, I have never drawn you into the Void._"

"What do you mean we have spoken before?" I asked. "And if you have drawn me here…does that mean I am dead?"

I could see the faint outline of a smile. "_No. You are perfectly alive, lying comatose in the Flooded District. And you would not remember our very first conversation. My…how you've grown._"

I stared at the Outsider questioningly, not saying a word.

"_When we first spoke, you were a twelve-year-old girl, terrified of anything and everything. I gave you the courage to do what few other children even consider doing…Kill their tormentor. Since then, you have served me indirectly, by serving Daud. No matter how hard you try, you will never recall the memories of your former life. The ritual Daud uses to erase memories is rather…permanent._"

"What does this have to do with me being drawn here?" I asked.

"_I drew you here to deliver a message to you._"

I hesitated. "And what is the message?"

"_When Daud killed the Empress, he set in motion a chain of events that may bring about not only the end of Dunwall…but also the end of the Whalers. How these events reach their climax depends on Daud…and you, as well. Daud is not the only one who has great expectations of you. You should know by now that I have been watching you for a very, very long time. I have gently guided you to the moments that you will face in the coming months. You greatly interest me, and thus, I will be watching you ever closer._

"_Though, I do wonder…Exactly how loyal are you to Daud? I see many paths before you, and each once is a great test of your loyalty. In truth, you cannot deny it, can you, Arissa? You claim to be utterly loyal to him, and I do believe that you are, but there is something else in your mind, isn't there? Something he purposely instills in all his Whalers: Fear. And your fear of him almost outweighs your loyalty for him. You do have every right to fear him, as you know that he's not afraid to kill those he deems unfit, or traitorous. Each day, each night, you lay and wonder…'Is today the day that he will finally put a blade to my throat, and slice it open?'_

"_Well…the blade hasn't come yet, has it? Don't worry. In time, it just might. And if it does, you will never have expected who will be the one that's holding the blade…_"

* * *

I snapped my eyes open, groaning, as I suddenly became aware of the fact that I had fallen out of bed, and landed on the hard wooden floor. I mumbled a curse in Serkonan as I used the bed to get myself onto my feet. _By the Outsider, how good it feels to be standing upright again. _That was when I noticed the slightly bloodied bandage bound tightly around my blade hand. The second realization hit me that I wore nothing except for my trousers and underclothes. The third, and perhaps darkest, realization was that I had not awoken in my own quarters…

I had awoken in Master Daud's.

Sensing a presence behind me, I looked over to the staircase, and saw my Master standing there with his arms folded. I do not know how my expression looked in that moment. Discomforted perhaps best described how I felt. Though, my expression must have been something to behold. My Master was rolling his eyes, yet he did have a very slight smile. It was very strange. I expected…I do not know. Anger? Derision? Instead, he looked…relieved. _How long have I been comatose?_

"Master, I uhh…" I cleared my throat, and immediately folded my arms over my chest, trying in vain to hide my underclothes. "This is, uh…not what I, uhhmm…"

"Arissa, calm down," he said gently. It unnerved me, because I have never heard this tone from him before. "I thought I heard you roll off the bed again. From the look on your face, I'd say you did."

"I…woke up that way, yes, Master," I said. "If I may ask, what am I doing up here?"

"You're up here because it was easier to keep an eye on you while you were comatose," he replied simply. "Your clothes and equipment are on the table in the corner. Get dressed, before you die of embarrassment. When you're ready, meet me downstairs. There are a lot of things we need to discuss."

I nodded. "Yes, Master."

Master Daud walked back down the staircase, as I walked over to the table. My uniform and weapons were carefully lain out across it. I began to put my uniform on. Contrary to how it may seem, our uniforms are rather intricate. It consists of three different layers. Not to mention, the uniform also differs depending upon your rank in the brotherhood.

Everyone wears the same linen shirt underneath a white brigade vest, buttoned high on the neck. We all wear the same short-sleeved leather frock coat. We all wear the same black leather, large cuff gauntlet gloves, with the glove on our left forearm being specially modified for the track for our wristbow. We all wear the same light brown leather calf boots. Now, here is where the differences begin.

If you are a novice, you wear a pale blue coat, red trousers, and a red belt around your waist, with the belt around your left shoulder being brown. Master assassins, like myself, wear a black coat, brown trousers; with the belt on our waist and the belt on our left shoulder both being brown. Master Daud's and Lurk's uniform is like ours, down to every detail. However, instead of a black coat, they wear a red coat. It marks them as being in the chain of command.

This may seem strange to an outsider, yet…I have spent so much time wearing my uniform, it has…become a part of me. It does not feel right without it. Mock me for it, if you must, yet you will be mocking what you do not understand.

I tightened the belt around my shoulder, placed my bolt pouch and other various pouches in their proper places, and slid my blade into my belt. Then, I attached my wristbow to its track, and made certain it was secure. And lastly, I took my mask and threaded its straps through my belt.

I slightly smiled. I felt like myself again.

I walked down the staircase, and up to Master Daud's desk. Hearing the floorboards creaking, he looked up at me from the book he was reading. Immediately, I noticed his eyes dart down to my bandaged hand.

"I see you kept your glove off," Master Daud said. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

I hesitated about admitting it. Yet, he was right. My hand did hurt, as much as I tried to deny the existence of the pain. "Yes, Master," I said quietly.

"That doesn't surprise me, Arissa. Your arcane bond was nearly destroyed last month. You've been unconscious this entire time."

"Last month?" I said, incredulously. "Master, what do you mean last month?"

"Arissa, that's the last thing you should be concerned with. Right now, you should be thankful to still be alive," he said. "Let me see your hand."

I held out my hand. Master Daud carefully took it in his and began to unwrap the bandage. My arcane bond started on the palm of my hand, swirled up over it, and ended a little past my wrist. As more of the marking came to be revealed, I saw that my skin appeared as though it had been seared where the marking was. The marking itself appeared darker than it was before.

"By the Outsider…" I trailed off. "Why did I not feel this sooner?"

"Arissa, I'll admit. Even with the Outsider's Mark on my hand, the ritual still takes its toll on me. I do feel what it does to me. I don't know why you didn't feel your arcane bond being broken," he paused. "Truthfully, I had an idea of what was going to happen to you. But this? This is a different outcome than I was expecting. You should be lying dead, right now. I never expected you to survive."

"Do you think my survival means something, then, Master?"

"A very good question. And one that I don't have an answer for. It says a lot about your arcane bond, for one. Perhaps it says something about you, as well."

"In what way, Master?"

"Those who serve me loyally share in my abilities, and my resistances, as you well know. If I had asked any other Whaler here to perform the ritual, they either would have been able to, yet be killed in the process, or they would not have been able to," he answered. "You performed the ritual, and survived. You're also the only one here who shares in more of my powers, and all my resistances. That, alone, says something about your loyalty."

I was listening to my Master's words carefully. His demeanor was…drastically different. The tone of his voice seemed…less dark. His expression, even, seemed…softer. It was as though there was something he wanted to say, yet did not want to admit to it. He taught me to look for this. It was a sign that someone was hiding something.

"Master, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Arissa," he said with avoidance. He paused for a few moments. "I've been working to repair your arcane bond while you were comatose. We should see if you can still use it. It would be a shame if you lost your magic."

"If that is your wish, Master," I said. "What would you have me do?"

He contemplated that. "Think you can talk and dance at the same time?"

"When have I not been able to?" I said with a smirk.

I put on my glove, cringing as I did so. _Pain is nothing to me. It is nothing. It exists only in my head. In truth, it does not exist. _The burning in my hand subsided. I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of my blade, and slid it out from my belt.

I walked to the center of the room, immediately taking up my combat stance. Master Daud slowly prowled towards me, drawing his blade and twirling it by the hilt a couple of times. With us both standing in the center now, we began to slowly walk around the other in a seemingly endless circle. We were measuring each other's worth. Waiting to see who would be the first to strike.

I intentionally had left an opening. Master Daud took the bait, striking first. He rushed at me, yet I swiftly dodged to the side. Now that I had his back turned, I rushed at him. Immediately, he spun, our blades locking together, steel ringing loudly against steel.

"Arissa, you can hit harder than _that_," he said. "Stop holding back! Now, transverse!"

His strength overpowered mine, and he pushed me away. He was about to bring his blade down to slash me. I began to feel my Void Channel bone charm vibrating against my skin, as it realized I was drawing in power. I smirked, drew in my mana, and transversed back, away from my Master. I appeared behind him.

"Good!" he said. "Now, I should clarify what I said earlier. You've been unconscious for a month. I assume you know what month it is?"

"Yes, Master," I replied as I charged at him once again. I delivered a sharp kick to his side, which he seemed to barely feel, and brought my blade down. "It is undoubtedly the Month of Darkness. A month's time would deem it impossible for it to still be the Month of Wind."

Master Daud blocked my strike once more. Again, I was forced to transverse away, as he tried to retaliate against me. "Correct," he replied. "Remember when I said that the Royal Protector should be taking the fall for the death of Jessamine Kaldwin?"

"Yes, Master."

"My suspicion was correct. Corvo did take the fall for her death. He's currently rotting in Coldridge Prison, and is set to be beheaded five months from now." Master Daud transversed behind me. I spun just in time, and yet again, our blades were locked together. "I told the Spymaster to pay us an extra ten-thousand for the improvisation, or we'll come calling. He's late on his payment."

This time, I managed to push my Master away. I transversed away from him, putting distance between he and I. Then, I held up my left hand, and ensnared my Master in a tethering. Feeling my power coursing through me…it felt _more _than wonderful. "That does not surprise me, Master," I said. "Yet, the Spymaster should know that you always make good on your promises."

Master Daud transversed out of the tethering. "He has the guts to think we'll continue to do business with him. If I were the Spymaster, I would rethink that." As revenge, my Master ensnared me in a tethering, which began to drag me towards him.

I drew in a very small amount of mana and jumped through the air. The tethering was struggling to keep me within its grasp. Finally, it broke, and I flipped through the air, landing in a perfect crouch on the other side of the room.

"You and I both know he will not, Master," I said. "I am willing to bet he doubts your seriousness."

"As am I," Master Daud replied. "Also, Arissa, that was a rather impressive leap. It appears your arcane bond is still functional."

"Thank you, Master. I am glad to still have my abilities."

"Good. Because you're not off the hook yet," he said with a smirk, and rushed at me once more. Yet _again,_ our blades locked. We were walking each other around in a circle, neither of us willing to relent to the other. "Dunwall is writhing and changing under our feet, Arissa. It has many directions it can go, and what way it will, I can't say. This city has always been tangled up worse than a bag of snakes."

"I assume you are coming up with a plan, if you do not have one already, to deal with the Spymaster?"

"I've put Lurk to work on that. According to what she's been able to uncover so far, the _Lord Regent, _is having a party at Dunwall Tower. Everyone who had a hand in the Empress's death will be there, except for us. We didn't get an invitation."

I could not help but laugh. "A pity. I will miss wearing that dress I do not own," I said sarcastically. "I know my work well. You wish to silence the _Regent's _friends. That begs the question…Which ones are we to silence?"

"Lurk is currently working on that, among other things, as we speak. When she returns with the rest of the information, I'll relay everything to you."

We were still dancing each other around in a circle. "Yes, Master," I replied. "Is there anything else?"

"Nothing that need concern you, Arissa."

The whole while, I had been slowly putting the pieces of this together in my head. That was when I accidently said aloud, "This has to do with the Empress's death, does it not?"

The tension against my blade suddenly increased, to the point where I could barely hold my own against my Master's strength. His steely-blue eyes were glaring into mine, and suddenly, he slid his blade upwards, knocking mine away to clatter uselessly on the ground. Before I realized what happened, he had me pinned on the ground. His free hand was wrapped tightly around my throat, and his blade was pressed up against an exposed part of it.

I severely hit a nerve. My Master had me dead to rights in that moment. Yet…did I truly want to pursue this?

_Yes. I should. _

_Show him that you have no weakness, even in the face of Death._

"H-her death…It is…c-changing you," I said, struggling for breath. He did not respond, keeping his tight grip on my throat. If he did not asphyxiate me first, I knew he would cut my throat. Either way, I proceeded. I was committed to my choice.

"Master…I only w-want…t-to help…you," I broke his gaze, and said in a very low, choked whisper. "You are…the only r-real…father I've ever…h-had. T-the…only one who has…c-cared for me."

His grip suddenly slackened immensely, and he released the hand from my throat. Yet, he kept his blade pressed against it. That was his way of telling me that I was crossing a line, and how I chose my words would decide whether I lived or died.

After a few deep breaths, I said, "When you turned me into a Whaler, it was the proudest day of my life. I meant every word I said back then, when I said that I will forever serve you with the utmost loyalty, until the day I meet my demise. You know that I am one of your most loyal, and I am aware of the line I am crossing.

"I know how many different ways you can kill me right now. If I have truly wronged you, Master, than I deserve nothing less than to die. I do not fear death. You taught me to never fear it. Yet I, like many of my brothers here, care for you. We have sworn to be your blades. We _are _your blades. We have spilled rivers upon rivers of blood with you, and in your name. We will sacrifice our lives for you. We _have _sacrificed our lives for you, and I do not mean our former lives. Our former lives have no meaning to us anymore. You have given us better lives than we ever could have had.

"Perhaps I am the only one who sees it…the fact that Jessamine Kaldwin's death is affecting you…Yet, I do not care. It does not change what I have vowed to you. And it never will."

Master Daud stared at me. I could not begin to comprehend the emotions in his expression. Yet, he let me go. He stood up off me, and slid his blade back into his belt. I went over and retrieved mine, also sliding it into my belt.

"While you were unconscious, the Outsider spoke to me," Master Daud said finally. "He's spoken with you, too, hasn't he, Arissa?"

"Yes, Master. He did. How did you know?"

"I heard you talking in your sleep," he paused. "Arissa, a storm is coming. A storm that threatens to tear apart everything I've spent years building. The Outsider told me…that I was right. The Empress was different. This time, I won't be fading away into the shadows. This time, I may even be taking all of you down with me. There's going to be consequences for what I did. And truthfully…Truthfully, I already knew I was going to pay for this one."

"The Outsider told me that when you killed the Empress, a chain of events was set in motion that could not only destroy us, but Dunwall, as well. He said the outcome of these events depend on you…And they will also depend on me. He said that each path before me is going to test my loyalty to you. And yet…I do not understand a lot of the things he meant. One of which being…Oh, what was it he said?" I trailed off, trying to recall what it was the Outsider had said. "It went something like: 'The blade has not come yet. In time, it just might. And if it does, you will never have expected who will be the one holding the blade.'"

Master Daud contemplated that for a long while. "It sounds to me like someone's going to try and kill you. But why would my actions coincide with yours? My fate is my own. Always has been…" he trailed off, and sighed. "What else did he tell you?"

"A lot of it seemed just like random gibberish. Yet…he said he would be watching me more closely. That you are not the only one who has great expectations of me."

Master Daud sighed again. "Damn the black-eyed bastard. He knows I can't abide a mystery. You can't abide them, either. But why all of _this?_"

A long period of silence followed after that. I decided to break it. "Master, there is something else, is there not?"

"There he," he replied. "I was told that my story is close to ending, and I can't escape the ending. The Outsider decided to give me a "gift." He gave me a name."

"Whose name, Master?" I asked, inquisitively.

Master Daud's expression suddenly turned austere, as he responded, "Delilah."


	4. Blood Will Be Spilled

**Chapter 4**

**Blood Will Be Spilled**

* * *

Delilah. I did not like how that name sounded ominous. I cannot deny that I have participated in some very…strange rituals, and I cannot deny that I have seen some very unexplainable things lurking in the night. Yet, strangely, they did not seem to compare to that name.

"What would you have us do, Master?" I asked him. "Do you think we should investigate this…Delilah?"

"No," Master Daud said. "Right now, Delilah isn't important."

One of my brothers suddenly transversed into the room and briskly walked towards us. He briefly looked at me, surprised to see me standing there, then immediately refocused and said, "Master!" I recognized the voice instantly, even through the mask distortion. It was Aeolos. "We have a serious problem!"

"What is it?"

"I did as you asked and checked each dead drop surrounding Clavering Boulevard. I…found this." Aeolos produced a torn sheet of paper from his bolt pouch, and handed it to our Master.

Master Daud looked over the note and cursed. "Why am I _not _surprised?"

"What would you have us do, Master?" Aeolos asked.

All the while, I stared at the two of them questioningly. I had no idea what they were talking about.

"Arissa," Master Daud said. "About two weeks ago, I sent Vladka on his first assignment. Kieron went with him, since you weren't conscious. They never returned. And now, there's this." He pressed the note into my hand.

I carefully glanced over it. Its words were written in blood, in a frantic hand. It read simply: _Captured. Help. _I recognized Kieron's handwriting immediately. Now, it was my turn to curse. Out of the master assassins, I was ranked highest; while Thomas was ranked second highest. Kieron was ranked underneath Thomas, and Aeolos underneath Kieron, as fourth highest. If someone actually managed to take Kieron down and capture him, then this was _very _serious.

"It has to be the Overseer zealots," I said. "I do not buy the fact that the Bottle Street Gang or the City Watch could take Kieron on and survive, let alone capture and hold him."

"I second that," Aeolos said. "And if that's the case…What if Kieron and Vladka are already dead? The Overseers aren't exactly known for keeping us alive."

Aeolos was truthful about that. The Abbey of the Everyman and its Overseers actively try and wipe our existence from Dunwall. The Overseers are fanatically devout in ridding the world of the Outsider's influence. The zealots will persecute anyone, from the lowliest peasant to the highest nobleman, if they even _suspect _that someone is dabbling in the forbidden arts, like black magic, blood rituals, and bone charms, to name a few.

Sometimes, they will arrest the peasants, to try and "correct" the behavior, in the hopes of gaining more Overseers. Other times, they will kill the peasant on the spot. A nobleman gets a slap on the wrist, and nothing more, all because they made a very convenient donation to the Abbey. Yet, a Whaler…A whaler is relentlessly interrogated. Tortured. The zealots will do whatever they can to make us plead for death by the time they are done with us. And sometimes, they even grant us death. Other times…

Well, let me just say that our relationship with the Abbey is very…antagonistic.

"As far as I know," Master Daud said, "Kieron's body hasn't transversed back here. He should still be alive. However, Vladka is anyone's guess. He hasn't developed powers. For all we know, he could be dead," he paused. "Aeolos, I want you back on sentry duty with Thomas and the others."

Aeolos bowed. "As you wish, Master. I'll check and see if Kieron's body is here. If it is not, I'll return to the Rail Station." He transversed off.

Master Daud turned to me, his expression grave. "Arissa, I don't like having to ask you to do this. You just woke up after a month of being comatose, and I don't think it's wise to be straining your arcane bond. You're trying to deny its pain, yet you still feel it. But I don't have any other options. If I pair you with one of your brothers, you'll only be slowed down. I need you to go, alone, to Holger Square and rescue Kieron and Vladka. If they were captured by the Overseers, then that's where they're being held."

"Yes, Master," I said. "Would it be wise for me to investigate the area beforehand, just in case?"

Master Daud hesitated. "I normally wouldn't suggest this, but go to Granny Rags. She might know something useful. And, Arissa? Leave your suicide needle here. I don't want the Overseers learning what poisons we use. It's troubling enough that they may figure out Kieron's or Vladka's. I'd prefer not to have to force your brothers on the potency of the poison we need to use."

I nodded, took my vapor mask from my belt, and put it on. I was very thankful to not have to bring my suicide needle. When Master Daud was testing poisons on me to see if I had inherited any of his resistances to certain toxins, I nearly died as soon as he administered the most potent poison, the one he has to use himself.

Were it not for my Master's quick hands, I would not be alive. In a way, I suppose it is kind of…wrong, perhaps? In my lifetime of twenty-two years, I have nearly been killed…Well, the bone charm destroying ritual makes it my third time, in the ten years that I have been a Whaler.

And each time, I have been saved by my Master. _Why, I wonder? Is he perhaps sparing my life for more than just my talents?_

"I will bring my brothers back as soon as I am able, Master," I said, and bowed. "And by the Outsider, I swear it that I will send as many Overseer zealots to the Void as I am able."

"Good luck, Arissa," Master Daud said. "You're going to need it."

With that, I transversed away.

* * *

If one does not know how to navigate it, the Distillery District can be a dangerous place, for both citizen and assassin alike. A particular word of advice: If you hear deranged singing and the mention of "little birdies" on Endoria Street, _do not _look back, and just keep walking. Granny Rags may appear to be a blind, harmless old woman, but she is far from such. Granny Rags is a practitioner. She creates whalebone runes and bone charms. She also performs rituals that Master Daud refuses to perform. We cannot be certain of this, yet we believe that she may possess the Mark of the Outsider.

As for the "birdies," well…You will be happier not knowing the answer to that.

Master Daud does not like sending us to Granny Rags. He often tells us to keep our distance from her, though we have had to seek her help on occasion. While she may be blind, she provides us with surprisingly helpful information when we ask her for it. It was why Master Daud sent me to her. I would need any edge I could get, if I am to rescue my brothers. And perhaps she would be able to tell me if they are still alive…

I patrolled Endoria Street from the rooftops. I was making sure that there were no civilians around to witness me. The last thing I wanted was some "responsible citizen" reporting me to the zealots before I even did anything. As for the thugs on Bottle Street, I did not spare them a second thought. If they truly had a death wish, I would be happy to oblige them. They would quickly learn that it is a _grave _mistake to cross me.

The streets were absent of life, save for that of some rats and some City Watchmen further up the street. I was not concerned about them. I was far out of their line of sight. I transversed myself down onto the street, to Granny Rag's apartment. I approached the door, and knocked on it three times.

There was the sound of a transversal from inside. Then the sound of a key fumbling in the lock. The door opened, and there stood Granny Rags, in her fine, yet dirty, clothes, and white hair bound up into a bun. Not many knew the truth of who Granny Rags truly was. I am one of those few, for it is my job to know the unknowable.

Once upon a time, the infamous Granny Rags was Vera Moray, a noblewoman who threw parties far grander than those at the Boyle family Estate. Were you to look upon a painting of Vera Moray then look at current-day Granny Rags, you would only see a shadow of the woman who once existed. She was no longer the once-great Vera Moray.

I said to her a traditional Serkonan greeting, then said in the common tongue, "I apologize for disturbing you, Madam Granny. Yet, it is urgent that I speak with you."

Granny's lips curled up into a smile. "You're one of those odd Whaler folk, aren't you, deary? Oh, yes…I can hear it in your voice. Come in! Come in! The streets are no place for the likes of you."

Granny let me inside of her apartment, then locked the door behind me. The first floor of the apartment was very dark, though the darkness was no issue for me. I have been trained to see in the darkness. Through my mask, I could smell death. Particularly, rotting flesh…and blood. I could hear the bubbling of soup in a pot…

While I am more than well acclimated in the smell of blood and death, rotting flesh is an entirely different matter. Especially when I can smell it through my _vapor mask_. These masks have industrial-strength air filters. They were used by workers in the Greaves Whale House, the whale oil refinery in Rudshore. These masks had to protect workers against the fumes given off by the whale oil. So, when you can smell things you should not even be able to through the air filter, well…

You know something is terribly wrong.

Granny led me up a flight of stairs. She turned the corner, then led me into a room that acted as a small kitchen. For some reason unbeknownst to me, there was a _boat _suspended from the ceiling. Yes. You read that correctly. A _boat._ There was a balcony in this room, as well. Yet, the doors that would open out to it had long since disappeared. Instead, there were giant planks of wood that sealed off the outside world. Some moonlight slipped in through the cracks in the wood, and a stove helped to illuminate the room with dull firelight.

The soup pot was still boiling on the stove, the stench here very strong. There was only one thing that smelled worse, and that was Weepers. Do not ask me how I know that.

Granny sat down on the floor, near the stove to be near the fire's heat. I sat down across from her, folding my legs. I wanted to stay away from both the stove and the soup pot.

"Would you like some soup, deary?" Granny offered. "I just prepared it not too long ago. It should be done cooking, by now."

Another word of advice: If Granny Rags offers you food; by the Outsider _do not _accept it. Ever. You would never be able to live with yourself afterwards, once you learned what she had really cooked for you…

"No, thank you, Madam," I said, carefully. "I am afraid the nature of my business requires me not to linger for a long period of time."

"Ah, yes. People to murder, I assume," she replied. "What do you want to know, deary?"

"Two of my brothers were on a contract here, in the Distillery District. They went missing about two weeks ago. I know that may have been a while ago, but please. I must know if you have heard anything unusual."

Granny Rags became lost in thought. It was five dreadfully long minutes before she finally spoke. "Why, yes, deary. I have," she replied. "I know the sounds of your brothers well. When they came through here, the Overseers were waiting. They were playing harsh music. It scared my poor little birdies away. It hurt your brothers very badly. Next, there was the shouting of nasty words, and lots of screaming. Ahh, that music is not good, deary. A sweet little thing like you would do best to avoid it."

That had my interest piqued. I had never heard of anything like this before, nor have I seen it in my previous encounters with the zealots. "What can you tell me of this music?" I asked.

"Oh, deary. It would hurt something like you far worse than it did your brothers. The handsome black-eyed groom truly smiles upon you, for the power he's given you. But the music…It's something that can only come from a box. Those nasty Overseers like to use it as a means of telling us apart."

"Tell us apart how? Like which of us are practitioners and which of us are not?"

"Yes, deary! Precisely so!" Granny replied. "I don't know how it works, but from the noises I heard, your poor brothers are in great danger. From what I can tell, deary, they are still alive. For now."

If I can trust Granny's word, and in almost all cases we have been able to, Kieron and Vladka are still alive. That is good. Yet, I will need to move quickly. I know Kieron very well. He would never spill any of our secrets. However, Vladka is…a different matter. The novices will always run their mouths under pain, under torture. That is why we have to teach them not to succumb to agony's embrace, no matter how bad it becomes.

It is…a lesson I know firsthand. _A pun, perhaps, given the fact that my blade hand is throbbing. Why must you do this to me now, arcane bond? Of all the times…_

"Is there anything else you can tell me, Madam?" I asked. "Anything else at all?"

"No, no, deary. I'm afraid that's all I can offer you."

I stood up. "It is enough to help. Thank you, Madam."

Granny Rags smiled once more. "You'd better hurry, deary. Your brothers are counting on you."

* * *

I had transversed myself to Holger Square. When I came out of the transversal, I was crouched on the ledge of a building that overlooked the Office of the Overseer. The Office of the Overseer building was constructed of pure white stone. Red flags with the crest of the Abbey in gold hung in many places. At least ten flags were on the Office building itself, with many more up and down the entire street. On the building, there were ledges identical to the one I was currently perched on.

_They really made it easy for assassins to get into their building. Idiots._

I transversed myself onto the ledge across the street, crouching down once more, keeping one hand on the hilt of my blade. _Stop throbbing, arcane bond. Do not dare to fail me. _I carefully glanced at the street below me. There were ten Overseers patrolling it, as well as four Wolfhounds. It was very difficult to stifle the urge to kill them all, for what they did to my brothers. I did not care if they were innocent in that respect or not.

They deserved to die just for being part of the zealot order.

Yet, killing them would be a very foolish act. If I killed them and someone discovered the bodies, they would know I was here. Then they would kill my brothers, and I would fail my mission. I would have done this all for nothing.

The sad truth of the matter is that no matter how many Whalers we recruit, there will always be more Overseer zealots. That is why we need to preserve our numbers, our strength, as best we can, and strike only when someone truly must be struck down. At the moment, there are only thirty of us. And there were never many of us to begin with…

I needed to get inside of the Office itself. Yet, I did not want to blindly transverse into the building, or crawl through an open window. I crept along the ledge, until I was closer to where I felt I needed to infiltrate the building. I rarely used this power, but I felt that it was necessary, if I was going to have a better chance of succeeding.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, stilled my thoughts. I stilled all my movement. Then I snapped my eyes open, looking at the area with my Void Gaze. The Void Gaze allowed me to see things in a different…shall we call it, spectrum? Through this spectrum, my senses were honed to far deadlier points than they already were. They were honed to the point where I could literally sense and hear anything, and everything, that was near me.

However, I did have a complication with this power. I had to stay completely still, in order to use it. The Void Gaze is one of Master Daud's powers. Yet, I only gained in the use of it recently, back during the Month of Nets. I had not had much time to practice using it, as we were still making preparations for the assassination of the Empress. _One of these days I must ask Master Daud to fully train me in this power._

If I transversed myself into the Office from my current position, I could get myself in a hallway. However, there were three zealots stashing papers in filing cabinets. They would see me. So, that was out of the question. There was an archive to the left side of the Office. There were six zealots inside, reading various materials or speaking their Seven Strictures. Trying to transverse myself into the archive would not work, either.

There! That is where I would transverse myself. There was a lone Overseer inside an office, above the interrogation room. He appeared to be writing down notes, with absolute concentration on his task. He would hear me, perhaps, yet he would be no match for me. And as far as I could tell, the two doors leading up to that office were locked.

I smiled darkly.

I would have that zealot all to myself.

I tilted my head, disrupting the Void Gaze and causing it to disappear. Using the zealot as a focus for my transversal, I appeared in the room, directly behind him. Before he could react, I swept his feet out from under him, slamming him down hard onto the floor. I pinned him down with one knee, pulling one of his arms behind his back, ready to break it, if I needed to. I placed my wristbow against the side of his neck, and I made certain that the bolt was penetrating the fabric of his uniform, and broke a layer of skin.

His surprised shriek thrilled me.

"Tell me, zealot," I said in a dark tone. "Where are the two assassins you captured?"

"Go back to the Void where you came from, foul creature!" the Overseer yelled.

I pressed my wristbow deeper into his neck. "Wrong answer. Tell me where the assassins are."

The Overseer struggled to throw me from him, yet I had expected him to try something. I pressed him down harder, placing my knee on a pressure point and pushing his arm down further, to be on the fringe of breaking. Just as my Master had taught me. The zealot screamed in pain. Yet, he still refused to speak.

In his mind, I had no doubt he was reciting his Seven Strictures. It was all he could cling to. He knew his life was at an end. That was the nature of our relationship. Whalers and Overseers are archenemies. It was ingrained into my nature to kill him, as it was ingrained into his nature to kill me. We are predators of differing kinds. Only…I had been the first to pounce.

"Zealot, you would be wise to speak. You and I both know what is going to happen," I said. "You are more than well aware that I can draw out your death. Yet, if you tell me what I want to know, then I will grant you a quick death. Of that, you have my word, however little it means to you."

For a while longer, the zealot remained silent. Finally, he sighed deeply, and spoke. "Your fellow assassins are being held captive down in the kennels. The room they're in is locked and requires a combination code to be opened. The code for the door is three-zero-two. There are also six of my brothers down there, two of which are currently interrogating yours."

"One last thing, zealot. Tell me about your music boxes."

Another sigh. "The music boxes use mathematics-based song and a series of words spoken to render your black magic useless. The boxes cannot be easily destroyed, but if you disrupt the conductor, then you disrupt the effects. Do you wish to know anything else?"

I moved my wristbow away from his neck, and brought him up to his knees. I drew my blade, and said, "Recite your Seven Strictures, Overseer. You do not deserve my mercy. None of you do. Yet, you will be the only one who can die, knowing they received mercy from a Whaler."

"I hope you die in fire, Whaler," he said, then began to recite the First Stricture, Wandering Gaze. I positioned my blade on his spinal cord, and stabbed it through his neck. There was a sickening crack, as he struggled for life momentarily. Yet, he could not hold on.

He was dead.

I withdrew my blade, then wiped the zealot's blood away on his uniform. I sheathed my blade, then lifted the zealot's body up, dragging him over to a chair and carefully positioning him in it. He was slouching on the table. To anyone who looked at him, they would think him asleep. That is, they would think him asleep, until they got closer.

I was about to transverse out of the room, when I noticed there were two audiograph cards lying on the desk. Curiosity overtook me. It was entirely possible that they might have useful information. I picked up the first card, placed it in the machine, and turned it on.

"We just got word from the Lord Regent that there will be two heretics coming to Clavering Boulevard. The High Overseer seemed more than willing to set up an ambush for them, but the men assigned to the task weren't happy about it, to say the least. Here's hoping the new music boxes, as we've come to calling them, work."

I started mentally connecting the pieces together. It all made sense now…And truth be told, I could not tell you how I felt in that moment. I felt…guilt. Vladka's first assignment had been to collect the secondary payment from the Spymaster. The Spymaster screwed us over by setting up an ambush at the dead drop. Which meant…I should be the one sitting down in the kennels right now, not Kieron.

I pulled out the first audiograph card, and placed the second one in.

"The music boxes worked far better than expected. The heretics were captured and are being interrogated in the kennels as I speak. Only three of the seven men sent on the ambush died. They said that assassin in the black coat was very difficult to take down, but eventually he did succumb to the music box's effect. He'll prove difficult to get information out of, but his little friend…His friend will be easy to crack."

I pulled the second card out, and placed both cards in my bolt pouch.

I had more than enough motivation to kill the zealots, now.

_And if I got the chance…Oh, how I would make the Spymaster pay for this…_

I transversed down to the kennels. Yet, when I came out of my transversal, I staggered, and nearly hit a wall. _Why now, arcane bond, why now? _Suddenly, I heard a very strange music. And it _hurt _to listen to it. By the Outsider, it _hurt_. My bone charm suddenly went inert, and just like in the ritual, it felt like my magic was literally being torn from me. _Okay, fine. I cannot blame you for this one, arcane bond._

I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of my blade and slid it out from my belt. I refused to let this music affect me, even as it got louder, became more agonizing. I had gotten this far. I was near the end. _I will rescue my brothers._

_And the zealots will die for hurting them._

I crept in what shadows I could find. When I came closer to the room that held my brothers, I scrutinized the area. There were four zealots guarding the door, and I could see two more inside, where there was a zealot with the music box. I wanted so badly to fall to my knees, now. Yet, I never did.

_Outsider, guide my hand. Allow me to send these fools to you. Allow me to send them to the darkest reaches of the Void._

I leapt from the shadows, my blade held high. I landed on one of the zealots, stabbing my blade through his throat. He weakly grabbed at me, as his life ebbed away. It more than _thrilled _me.

_I am a predator. These zealots are my prey._

_And they will die._

_One down._

The other zealots had watched me stabbed their brother. They finally shook off the shock of the sudden ambush, and came rushing at me, sabers drawn. I twirled my blade in my hand, ignoring the pain from my arcane bond. _Pain is nothing. Pain does not exist. I am a predator. They are my prey. _I could not use my magic in this battle. I had no transversals. No tetherings. I had to dance the old-fashioned way.

And I allowed my instincts to kill to take over.

I pushed the music from my mind, and it became nothing more than background noise to be ignored. I lunged forward, flicking my wrist towards the first fool to come at me. You cannot hit an Overseer in the face because of the metallic masks they wear. Yet, their necks were more than fair game. And that was where my bolt had struck true. The zealot staggered backwards, gasping for air that would not come.

He fell to his knees, breathing his final breaths.

_Two down._

The next Overseer attacked me, enraged. As he brought down his saber, I moved swiftly to the side. I delivered a sharp kick to his ribcage, and he staggered backwards, tripping over his fallen comrade. He fell on the floor. I stabbed him through the heart with my blade, in a blindingly quick movement.

I let him bleed out.

_Three down._

The final zealot drew his pistol, aiming it directly at my head. I flanked him almost immediately, disarming him. I grabbed the pistol from his broken hand, aimed it at his heart, and fired.

My shot was fatal, and had not missed.

_Four down._

_Only two remain._

I threw the pistol down on the floor. I reached into my bolt pouch and reloaded my wristbow. Once the bolt was secured, I put the combination in the combination lock on the door, and kicked the metal door open with a deafening bang. The zealots inside were more than startled.

I spun around the music box-wielding Overseer, confusing him. He tried to hit me with the box, though he failed miserably. After the third spin, I stabbed my blade through his spine. At the same time, I had flicked my wrist and launched my wristbow bolt right at the next Overseer.

I withdrew my blade from the box-wielding zealot. Both he and the other zealot lay dead on the ground. In a way, I was disappointed. None of the zealots had put up much of a fight. They knew I was weakened, and they did not even scratch me. For that matter, I was not even panting…

I cringed as my magic came back to me in a sudden rush. My bone charm had begun to thrum its strange "song" once more. And I was relieved that it did. This bone charm has helped me more times than I could even begin to count. It has proven very useful for me.

I looked over to the corner of the room. There, lying on the stone floor, bloodied and beaten, were Kieron and Vladka. Vladka was unconscious. I could not tell if he was breathing. The zealots had hurt him, badly. Kieron did not appear any better. Yet, he did look up at me, surprised. A smile stretched across his face.

I sheathed my blade and went over to them. "Kieron!" I said, leaning down to him. I could not mask the anger, and the fear, in my voice. Anger, at what the zealots did to them. Fear, that I might still lose them. "Are you all right? Is Vladka all right?"

Kieron shook his head weakly. "H-he's…d-dying. P-please…Arissa. Get us…out of…h-here."

I nodded. "I will…I will get you both out of here…"

I placed both hands on Kieron and Vladka. I closed my eyes, deep in concentration. I could transverse across vastly large spans without a second thought. However, it required more concentration than usual to transverse with passengers. _Do not fail me now, arcane bond. I need you…_

The burning in my hand was intense, the pain making itself very well known. I was pushing myself too far. Yet, I _needed _this transversal…

_Please work…_

When I opened my eyes, I found that we were at the Rudshore Rail Station. I sighed in relief. There were six sentries posted around the Rail Station. All of them had their attention focused on me.

"Thomas! Aeolos! Get down here!" I yelled to them. "I have them. I have Kieron and Vladka!"

Immediately, four of the six sentries transversed down onto the ground, forming a circle around Kieron, Vladka, and I. The other two sentries stayed on their rooftop positions, to guard us and the surrounding area.

"What happened here?" Thomas asked.

"Kieron and Vladka were captured by the Overseers," Aeolos said. "Our Master sent Arissa to rescue them."

"They are wounded and need medical attention, immediately," I said commandingly. "Vladka will not last much longer. He is dying."

"You heard the woman!" Aeolos said to the other two sentries. "We need to get them inside, on the double!"

Aeolos and the other two sentries took Kieron and Vladka, and transversed away. Thomas offered me his hand, which I took, and he helped me stand.

"I hope you killed all the zealots responsible for this, Lady Arissa," he said.

I tilted my head questioningly. "Lady?"

I could tell he was smiling underneath his mask. "We came up with a title for you, since we thought…you may not return. I am glad to see that you are alive, and that you rescued our brothers."

"To answer your question, Thomas, I caused what suffering I could," I replied. "Yet, it does not feel…sufficient. If Vladka dies…"

Thomas placed a gloved hand on my shoulder. I was covered in blood, though it did not faze him. "Vladka won't die. After all, you didn't. The will of a Whaler is stronger than one could imagine."

I nodded. I felt exhausted. _Thank you, arcane bond. You did not fail me. _I was not yet complete in my task, though.

"I need to report to our Master," I said. "I advise that you get some more sentries out here, as replacements for the ones currently helping Aeolos."

Thomas bowed. "As you say, Lady Arissa." He transversed away.

_One more transversal should not kill me…_

_I hope._

I transversed up to Master Daud's quarters, and took my mask off, threading its straps through my belt. My Master was standing behind his desk, scrutinizing a book. He looked up at me to acknowledge my presence, then his eyes immediately shot back down to the book. Though, he did take a second look at me. He must have seen the blood.

"I assume Kieron and Vladka have been returned to us?" Master Daud asked.

"Yes, Master," I said. "I…will make sure to clean my clothing and equipment when we are done."

"You don't seem so good, Arissa."

"I cannot be certain I am, Master. I feel agony from my arcane bond. I feel anger at what I discovered…"

"You need to rest for a while, and get your strength back," he said. "What did you discover?"

"I have two things to report. The Overseer zealots have developed a weapon against us, Master. They call it a music box. Upon interrogating an Overseer, I learned that it suppresses our magic through what he called mathematical and word-based song. I…experienced this music, while rescuing my brothers. It rendered my magic and bone charm useless. There are no words to describe what the music sounds like.

"The boxes, according to the Overseer, cannot be destroyed. However, I was able to disturb the song when I injured the Overseer, and killed him. Yet, it was still a short while before my magic returned to me."

Master Daud stayed silent for a long while. His eyes met mine once more. "From what you're describing to me, it sounds like there isn't much we can do about these…musical Overseers. For future reference, if there is an Overseer with a box, he'll need to die, first, if we have to combat an Overseer patrol."

"I believe that is all we can do."

"And what of the second thing?"

I reached into my bolt pouch, and handed Master Daud the two audiographs. He took them from me, then put the first one into the audiograph machine and listened to it. His expression darkened very noticeably. After the first audiograph finished, he pulled the card out of the machine, and put the second one in. After that one concluded, he cursed. In Serkonan, no less.

"I should have known it was a setup. Does Hiram really believe he's going to get away with this?"

"Send me to the Tower, Master," I said. "I am more than willing to get revenge for this."

"No, Arissa," Master Daud said sternly. "We're not doing anything. Not until I'm_ certain_ you can operate to your full potential in the field. Is that clear?"

I bowed my head. "Yes, Master."

"This changes things quite a bit…" he trailed off. "While you were gone, Lurk came back from her scouting run. This is all the information she was able to uncover."

Master Daud spun the book he was previously reading around on the desk, pushing it towards me. I glanced down at the book and began to skim its contents. A letter caught my interest. It was written in a graceful hand, and read:

_My dearest Hiram,_

_Now is a time for celebration! Your rule as Lord Regent will be a magnificent one. The Empress was weak, and now Dunwall shall see true order and control. I wish to host you a party, my love. We will have it on the former Empress's pavilion. Don't worry about inviting guests. I have already invited High Overseer Campbell, Custis and Morgan Pendleton, the Royal Physician, and your two new friends, Lord Aratana and Lady Amontaro._

_In two weeks time, we shall have a most dear celebration. And don't fret about the cost. It will be my pleasure to host it for you._

_Your love,_

_Lydia Boyle_

"Pity," I said. "You were not kidding when you said we were not invited. Yet, Master…Those last two names. Why do they seem so…familiar?"

"Because, Arissa. Those last two names…" Master Daud seemed to hesitate. "Those last two names are that of your sister, and that of your father."


	5. The Master and The Student

**Chapter 5 **

**The Master and The Student**

* * *

"Master…" I said. "What do you mean? I…I do not have a sister, or a father…Do I?"

"Arissa, I remember everything about you, before I turned you into a Whaler," Master Daud replied. "There's a reason why I take away the memories of each and every Whaler I recruit."

"And why were mine taken?"

Master Daud hesitated. It was strange, seeing him hesitate so much, now. "Let's just say…The type of childhood you had, I'm surprised you didn't kill yourself. For now, I'm willing to tell you this much. When I first met you, you literally fell into my arms, covered in an unholy amount of blood, and cried. You had no idea what you had done. You didn't believe me, at first, when I said I believed the fact you heard a voice in your head telling you to do things. That grew on you, after a while, and I quickly became the only person you trusted."

"The Outsider told me that we had spoken before, in my former life."

"Yes, well…I heard quite a bit about it, myself. Let it go, Arissa. For now, I want you to go and get some rest. You look about ready to collapse."

"I believe that I could, Master."

"You're free to go, then. It'll take me a while to properly analyze all the information. When I come up with a plan, I'll tell you."

I bowed. "Yes, Master."

Then I spun on my heels, and walked out of the room. I was not going to push my luck with my arcane bond.

Once I was back in my quarters, I took my mask from my belt and placed it down on the end table. Then, I unattached my wristbow from its track and placed it next to my mask. Lastly, I took a larger box, one I used for my blood-soaked equipment and clothes, and placed my blade in it. I stripped out of my bloodied uniform, changed into my spare one, threw my bloodied one into the box, and then immediately collapsed onto my bed, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

Something feathery feeling was dancing across my cheek. I swatted at it with my hand.

"Arissa," a mask-less voice said. "Wake up.

I mumbled something incoherent in Serkonan.

"It's been four days, you lazy little redhead," Aeolos said with a playful tone, now tapping me on the shoulder. "Get up."

I groaned, swatting at his hand again. "Is something on fire? Someone die? Someone need to be killed?"

"No. No. Maybe."

"Then it can wait ten more minutes."

"You said that yesterday."

I sighed, opened my eyes, and sat up. When my eyes finally came into focus, I lightly glared at Aeolos. He was twirling a sleep dart between his fingers.

"Were you really using the fletching of a sleep dart to rouse me?" I asked.

Aeolos smiled innocently, hiding the sleep dart behind his back. This was one of the rare times he was not wearing his vapor mask, so I got to see his truly disheveled near-platinum blond hair, with his sharp emerald green eyes. His arcane bond marking was swirled around his left eye. "No!" he said, feigning shock. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

"If you were innocent, you would not be hiding your hand behind your back."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you ever?"

That gave him pause. "You…are a very frustrating Serkonan."

"Just as you are a very frustrating Tyvian."

"And proud of it!"

I rolled my eyes, though I did smile slightly. At first, Aeolos and I could not stand each other. Master Daud had begun to force us on missions together, and after the seventh mission, Aeolos and I began to bond. Now, we shared the same quarters, and we were an inseparable pair. Yet…I have a feeling that Aeolos had more than just…fondness for me. I cannot quite describe it…It is something I do not feel, nor know the correct term for.

"By the way, I cleaned your equipment and clothes for you," Aeolos said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Why did you do that, Aeolos?" I asked. "I could have done it."

"I'm aware, but I thought I'd do something nice for you."

"Oh," I said, a little stunned. "Well…thank you, Aeolos."

"Think nothing of it."

"How are Kieron and Vladka doing?" I asked.

Aeolos ran a hand through his hair. "Well, Kieron was burned, lashed, and had a broken ankle, but he's up and moving around to the best of his ability. He seems…haunted. Barely talking to any of us, barely even eating. Part of me thinks he wants revenge, while another part of me thinks the Overseers really screwed with his head."

"This is Kieron we are talking about. I would not put it past him to be coming up with an elaborate torture plot right now," I said. "And what of Vladka?"

"Vladka hasn't been so lucky. We've nearly lost him three times, and he just…keeps screaming. Master Daud actually had to create a special sleep toxin for him just to calm him down and cease his screams…more or less. I can't begin to imagine what the Overseers did to him. As far as his wounds go, though, they're about the same as Kieron's, except they got infected. Both his arms and all his fingers were broken, and we still can't get his fever to break, either."

I slowly shook my head and said solemnly, "Let us hope we do not need to bury yet another one of our brothers."

I felt terrible for Vladka. I will admit, I have never thought much for the novices. Very few survive their training because they cannot handle what we must put them through. Yet, Vladka had a lot of potential, and we all liked him. Well…everyone except for Lurk, obviously. We do not count her opinions anymore.

"Agreed," Aeolos replied. "Oh, and before I forget, Master Daud said he wanted to see you."

I finally stood up off the bed. "Why did you not say so sooner?"

Aeolos shrugged. "I suppose I should have, now that I think about it…"

I rolled my eyes.

"I need to get back to tending to Vladka. I will be at his side, if you need me for any reason," he said, and transversed off.

Deciding to stay in my spare uniform (since it was identical to my other one), I began to put on my equipment, which Aeolos had placed on the end table. I ran my finger down the edge of my blade. It was growing dull. That is, dull by the standards our Master has for our blades. And that standard is, and I quote directly from my Master, "Sharp enough to take the limbs off of your enemies. And yours, as well, if you're not careful. But if you're cutting your own limbs off, then you probably did something to deserve your own stupidity."

Once I had all my equipment in their proper places, I transversed up to Master Daud's quarters, wondering just what kind of plan he had come up with to deal with the Spymaster.

* * *

As usual, Master Daud stood behind his desk. Except this time, he was not staring at a contract, or reading a book. He was writing in his journal.

"Master," I said. "Am I disturbing you?"

Master Daud shifted his gaze from his journal, to my eyes. "No, Arissa. You're not," he replied. "It's good to see you back on your feet. You were certainly out cold for a while. We were getting worried."

"Aeolos woke me up. Rather irritatingly, I might add," I smiled. "I plan to pay him back for it, one day."

"I don't doubt that, knowing you. How are you feeling?"

"I feel much better, Master. I no longer feel the pain from my arcane bond."

Master Daud nodded. He set down his pen and closed his journal over. "Good, because I have a test for you. Come here, Arissa."

"A test, Master?" I asked as I walked over to the desk.

Master Daud went and retrieved a leather-bound book from the bookshelf in the back corner, and he came back to the desk, laying the book down and pushing it towards me.

"I have my plans for the Spymaster. I plan to show him just how grave a mistake he's made in crossing me, and endangering my men. However, I don't have a plan for the actual infiltration into Dunwall Tower. And that's intentional. Because I want _you _to create the plan."

I tilted my head questioningly. "I have no qualms about performing this task, Master, but why me?"

"I think you've grown a little too comfortable in your current position, leading the Master Assassins. Your potential extends far beyond that. So, I want to see how you handle the responsibilities that will fall on you, as a lieutenant at my side."

I stared at my Master incredulously. _He cannot truly be proposing this…can he? _"Master, I would be honored to be at your side in the main command chain."

"Honestly, Arissa, I'm surprised at you. I thought you'd have caught on to this a lot sooner. I've been planning on this for a while, now."

"I…You have?"

Master Daud nodded. "Unbeknownst to you, I've been testing you since last year, since the Month of Timber. However, your first true test was on the day I…killed the Empress. Your second test, well…Perhaps this was cruel, unnecessary, even, but I could have gone with you to rescue Vladka and Kieron. I purposely chose not to. I wanted to see if you could truly pull the task off by yourself. And you did, without even taking a single scratch. So I ask you, now. Just how confident are you in yourself, Arissa?"

"I am more than confident in myself, and in my abilities, Master," I answered.

"Why do you sound so much like I was, when I was a young man?" I heard Master Daud say under his breath. I pretended not to have heard him. He spoke up. "You don't seem to have any regrets, either. I'm…slowly beginning to regret everything about that day, Arissa. But you? Have you ever once regretted something you've done? You tore Corvo away from Emily Kaldwin. You dealt with her endless thrashing and tears, and still you handed her over to the Pendletons. That's a very dark choice, for someone so young."

"And yet I was never an ordinary child, from what I remember of my first days as a Whaler. Now, I am no ordinary woman. You taught me never to have regrets, Master. You taught me that regrets make you weak. I am not questioning why you have them. That is your decision. Yet, I have no regrets of that day."

Master Daud stared into my eyes, searching for something. I could not discern the look on his face. "Very well," he said finally. "You do realize that I have high expectations of you, and that I will not make this test easy for you?"

"I would never expect you to. Nor would I want you to make it easy for me."

"This is Lurk's field journal. Everything she was able to uncover about the Regent's party is in this book. I want you to study every last piece of information, even the most superfluous. Like I said, I want to see how you perform in my role. Think you can handle it?"

"How long do I have to read this?"

Master Daud smiled. "Smart girl. I won't be timing you. Besides, there's no need to. You're a quick study. I think you'll connect the pieces together."

"As you say, Master."

I took the journal off of the desk, and walked over to the other side of the room. I sat down on the floor, my back leaning against the wall, and I opened the journal, slowly scrutinizing its contents.

* * *

There was absolute silence between my Master and I. Occasionally, I would look up from the journal and glance at him. I kept expecting, kept _waiting_, for him to chastise me, for taking too long. The old Daud I knew, the Daud I feared each and every day, would do that. He was patient, yet he did have his limits. _What is happening to my Master? Can he truly be changing?_

I did mean every word I spoke to him earlier in the week. Master Daud has been the only one who I have been able to truly call father, and I would do absolutely _anything _for him. Truth be told, I do not care if he has regrets. Perhaps it is something we all do, at one point or another. _Will I one day have regrets? No…I cannot. I regret nothing. _

In all honesty, I am more incredulous at my Master's sudden change in personality. I _fear _him because when he promises to deal with someone, he does. And any time he promises something, he keeps that promise.

Yet, that did not bother me as much as learning that he wanted to put me in the chain of command.

I knew I was important to Master Daud, and yet…This was something I never would have expected. I would not squander this opportunity. Becoming a lieutenant would be a very great honor for me. It is just…I am primarily a fallback commander. I say fallback, because I am often the one doing Lurk's job. The way it is supposed to be is that when she or my Master is not here, leadership of the brotherhood falls to me.

Yet, no one, including myself, will follow Lurk's command, even if she _is _here. My brothers trust me to lead them because they know I will not give them orders that will get them killed. Thus, I keep them in line, almost as well as our Master.

_They even gave me a title…_

_Do I truly mean that much to my brothers?_

_Or do they fear me, because they know I am turning into our Master? Is it fear, or respect? _

_Perhaps both?_

I sighed. Master Daud was right.

Like he, I cannot abide a mystery.

I had a feeling that Master Daud knew when I was focusing my eyes on him, and not my reading. Though, I could not help it. It was fascinating, watching what my Master does when we are not around him. He spends a lot of time writing, and an equal amount of time reading. Managing all those contracts…It looked complicated. Yet, there was one thing that fascinated me above all.

I always knew the quickness of my Master, yet watching how fast he was able to take apart his equipment and clean it…I cannot deny that I was envious. I am very quick in my own right, but I was nowhere near as swift as Master Daud.

I looked up at the hole in the roof, after finally having finished reading the entire field journal. I had no idea how long I had been sitting on the floor. It had to have been at least three hours, given the new position of the sun.

I rubbed my eyes, and stood up off the floor. I walked back over to Master Daud's desk, and set the field journal down on it.

Master Daud looked at me and said, "Finally finished reading, have you?"

"Yes, Master," I replied. "What must I do now?"

"Tell me who our targets are."

"They are Lord Korbin Aratana and Lady Lorena Amontaro."

"And why is that?"

"Lord Aratana and Lady Amontaro are spies, as well as assassins and black magic practitioners, in Serkonos. They lead the Spymaster's circle of spies in Serkonos. If we kill them, we will be delivering a very severe blow to the Spymaster's power. However, Lord Aratana and Lady Amontaro are the only two targets we can kill. Were we to strike any of the others, we could potentially cause…devastating complications for us, as well as Dunwall."

"Exactly so," Master Daud said. "How would you infiltrate the Tower?"

"That…is a lot trickier, Master. If this party is on the former Empress's pavilion…" I trailed off. "Lurk did not scout the Tower, did she?"

"No, she didn't."

"Perhaps we could use the same tactic we did for breaking into the water lock, when we assassinated the Empress, then? The party will be at night, I imagine, for atmospheric reasons and such. They would not see us hiding on the rooftop, especially if clouds are blocking the moon and starlight."

"You're on the right track with that, Arissa, but you need to think it through more."

I contemplated that. "We would need to use two, perhaps three, teams. The High Overseer will undoubtedly have a security detail with him. I have also heard rumors that the Royal Physician appears at parties with paid girls. We could try and use that."

"You should be able to use it," Master Daud said. "It isn't a rumor. Sokolov has appeared at parties more than once with paid women."

I stayed silent for a long while, lost in thought.

"Is this really that complicated for you, Arissa?"

"No, Master," I answered. "I…believe that I have a plan." _I just hope it will work…_

"Your place in the command chain depends on our success. Tell me this plan of yours."

"Well, Master, if it works out like I am hoping it to, this is the plan…"


	6. The Mysterious Woman Wearing Roses

**Chapter 6**

**The Mysterious Woman Wearing Roses**

* * *

The night of the Spymaster's party was upon us. The night was very cold, with the moon and stars covered by thick clouds. We were surrounded by darkness; the only illumination given to us was by the lights and decorations on and surrounding the pavilion, and what little moonlight was able to seep through the clouds. Of course, the darkness did not hinder us. Instead, it aided us. We became nothing but faint outlines that could be seen from a distance, though we could be easily mistaken for something else. It worked to our advantage very well.

Thomas, Killian, Aedan, and I sat on the rooftop above the water lock, the same one that also overlooked the former Empress's pavilion. I had led them up here using the same method of infiltration that was used during the contract to kill Jessamine only a month prior. Except this time, it was much harder to break into the water lock. Do not get me started on what it took to get us up here. I will say only this: In a few days' time, the City Watchmen will be wondering what that horrid smell is. And then they will begin a rather grand search for where we had stashed the bodies of their former comrades.

We were crouched behind the crenellations of the rooftop, occasionally peering out to see who might be standing on the pavilion. Thomas carefully stood near the water lock's skylight, so he could gaze down to see who was coming up it, if anyone. It was illuminated inside by lamplight, but the light did not stretch high enough to give away his position. Still, he was careful. As for the pavilion, only four people stood out on it, those being Lady Boyle, Morgan and Custis Pendleton, and the Spymaster. They were laughing and drinking what I assumed to be Tyvian wine, as that was the preferred drink among the nobility.

Everything about this party felt wrong, even to me. I may not have delivered the killing blow to Jessamine Kaldwin, but disrespecting her place of burial? I cannot say what kind of woman the Empress was in life. I never knew her personally, nor had I ever met her. Even if we had not killed her, I doubted she would have wanted anything to do with the likes of someone like me. Yet, I knew that her hands held this city together, even though her entire Court _is _corrupt. And _nowhere _is it right, for these foolish high-borns to be disrespecting not only the memory of her life, but also her place of rest.

_By the Outsider, I would strike them all down, if I could._

You should _never _disrespect the dead.

Or maybe that is something only a Serkonan knows. I could not say.

In the back of my mind, I had a growing feeling that something was going to go terribly awry. Yet, I could not place just what would, exactly. I was growing suspicious of the fact that the High Overseer, the Royal Physician, Lord Aratana, and Lady Amontaro had not yet shown up, however.

"Lady Arissa," Thomas said quietly. We were speaking quietly to each other the entire time, so that way no one below would be able to hear us. "Someone is coming up the water lock."

"Who is it?" I asked.

Thomas peered down into the water lock. "It looks like the High Overseer."

"How many men does he have with him?"

"Four."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

That made me feel slightly better. Slightly. "Master Daud and the others are here, then," I said. "Yet, that still leaves three guests, and Lurk, unaccounted for."

"The others will show up eventually, I'm sure," Thomas said. "After all, they all had a hand in the Empress's death. Nobles love nothing more than to pat themselves on the back for things they did, or didn't, do."

"That's all well and good and all, but…Is anyone else getting the feeling that Lurk is going to screw us over?" Killian asked. "You all saw the look she gave us when Master Daud announced that Arissa was giving us orders for the infiltration. She wasn't even _remotely _pleased. Actually, I'm surprised she didn't murder Arissa right there."

I rolled my eyes and said, "That makes two of us."

"That begs the question, though. Is she foolish enough to risk the wrath of our Master?"

"This is Lurk we are talking about," I said. "I am absolutely certain she has some form of petty revenge planned for me. Just what, exactly, I do not know. And that bothers me. However, it is something we cannot afford to focus on right now. We have a job to do, and we _must _make sure it succeeds. We do this not only for our Master, but for Kieron and Vladka, as well."

Silence fell between my brothers and I.

We watched as the High Overseer stepped onto the pavilion, with his security detail trailing behind him. It irritated me that we could not hear the conversations of the party from here. Yes, we could hear their laughter, but that was different, and we barely even heard that half the time.

"Another person is coming up the water lock," Thomas announced. "You're going to want to see this one for yourself."

I turned to look at Thomas. "Who is it?"

"Just…come see."

I walked over to Thomas's side, peering down into the water lock. A tall woman was stepping off a magnificent boat of Serkonan make. She wore a long, flowing dress of red that was adorned with multicolor roses. Her black hair was bound up tightly into a bun, also adorned with multicolor roses, with a black veil masking her eyes. There were bluish green vines that stretched the length of the dress, as well as up her exposed skin, up to her cheeks. A black glove was on her right hand, and it seemed like her hands, particularly her nails, were talon-like.

"Are those…thorns growing out of her arms?" I asked incredulously.

"She's growing vines _and _thorns," Thomas said. "Is that even possible?"

Killian and Aedan had come over to us and were also looking down at the strange, yet deadly looking, woman.

"So, that's Lady Amontaro, huh?" Killian said. "She looks…a lot like you, Arissa."

I offered no answer, even though I had one. _How can I tell them that Lady Amontaro is my sister? How is it even possible for me to be related with her? Am I going to one day grow vines and thorns, like she? _I shook my head clear. I did _not _want to follow that train of thought.

"Yes, Killian. That is, indeed, Lady Amontaro," I said, instead of offering an explanation as to our similar appearance. "However, Lurk's field journal said that she would be arriving with Lord Aratana. I do not like this."

"What should we do?" Aedan asked.

I contemplated that. "There is nothing we can do. We must follow orders. Thomas, tell us when the Royal Physician arrives, and make certain that Lurk is with him. Killian, stand on the right side of the roof, overlooking the way to Coldridge Prison. Aedan, stand on the left side, where you can see the Tower's courtyard. I will keep my eyes on the pavilion. If something goes awry, we will know by the way Master Daud reacts."

"Which Overseer is our Master?"

"The one right next to High Overseer Campbell. You can tell by his composure."

Aedan nodded.

I went back over to stand in the same corner that Master Daud had on the day we killed the Empress. I kept my eyes on Lady Amontaro the whole while, as she walked up to the pavilion. Once at the top with the others, she bowed before the Spymaster, greeted the others, and then things seemed to resume as normal.

* * *

Time seemed to be moving very still. On these types of jobs, it always did. In truth, about an hour had gone by. Lord Aratana had not yet arrived, and neither had Sokolov.

_Something has gone wrong…_

_You know it has._

"Thomas," I said, turning to look at him. "Is anyone coming up the water lock?"

Thomas peered down the skylight. "Yes, actually," he replied. "It's not Lord Aratana. It is, however, the Royal Physician."

I hesitated. "And just the Royal Physician?"

"Yes, Lady Arissa. Just he."

I cursed in Serkonan.

"Why am I not surprised?" Killian said. "That begs the question, now, doesn't it?"

"Like, what other orders Lurk disobeyed?" Aedan asked.

"Exactly that question, Aedan."

I mentally ran through the list of orders I had given, and what Master Daud had told us he planned to do to the Spymaster.

_Everyone should have been choking, by now…_

My brothers were looking at me, expectantly.

"We cannot delay any longer," I said suddenly. "I know what Lurk has done. We have no choice, now. We must strike, and we must strike, now!"

"But don't we also need to kill Lord Aratana?"

"We will have to track him down later. If we can at least strike down Lady Amontaro, perhaps Master Daud will consider sparing our lives."

"Yes, Lady Arissa!" my brothers said in unison.

I turned back around to focus on the pavilion, and was about to transverse, when I heard a strange sound from below us. Suddenly, I heard three separate _thunks!_ one right after the other. I turned to look, and my eyes widened in shock. My brothers lay on the roof, absolutely motionless.

_Are they unconscious?_

_Or are they dead?_

I felt a presence behind me. I spun around, drawing my blade as I did so.

Only, I was too late.

I found myself in the tight embrace of a Tyvian chokehold, a method I know all too well. I struggled against Lady Amontaro's hold, yet my struggle was in vain. I could not grasp her arms to throw her off me, because of the thorns. And struggling was only making things worse for me. I needed to transverse out of her hold…That would be the only way…

My vision was growing darker, and darker, and darker still. And no matter what I did, no matter what I tried to focus on, no matter who I tried to transverse to, I was completely unable to. I was completely unable to get out of Lady Amontaro's embrace.

_Why is this happening!? Why can I not transverse!? I was using my powers fine earlier!_

"You should rest now, my dearest sister," Lady Amontaro said. "You're going to need all the strength that I know you have. You need to trust me, and give in to me. Because you're not going to like what's going to happen to you later. I need you to trust me, Arissa!"

_Why should I trust you? _I wanted to say darkly to her. _I do not even know who you are, beyond the information I have studied…and even so, I doubt the validity of it, now._

I drew in my power directly from my arcane bond, feeling for the "thread" that linked my arcane bond to my Master's Mark of the Outsider. His Mark gave me my arcane bond. It was the ultimate focus, an absolute last resort. _Can my Master feel this? Does he know something is happening to me? Will he know if my brothers are okay?_

Now I drew in my mana for the transversal.

And even with the Mark of the Outsider as my focus…I could not transverse.

"_Give in to her grasp, Arissa,_" I heard the Outsider say, deep in the back of my mind. "_She is right. You're going to need every last bit of strength you can conjure, if you wish to survive this. This is nothing more to me than a test of faith, as well as a test of…curiosity. There is no denying that you are very strong-willed. But the question for you is: How long will it be, before your will falters?_

"_Keep in mind who controls know. Know who it is that truly controls you. One that is already controlled cannot be re-controlled by another. Remember those words, and you should undoubtedly live, at the very least. I see each and every outcome of this test, and I will share with you this, Arissa Daurana, master assassin to the Knife of Dunwall: Make this interesting enough for me, like I see so very often in each and every outcome I witness of your life, and you will not regret a moment of what you did on this night. In the long run, you will be glad that you did what you did…_"

I shuddered. It was growing too difficult to ward off the darkness.

"_Give in to the darkness, and sleep, Arissa_," the Outsider said."_Your resistance now is only going to hurt you later on. And you should know that lesson better than anyone._"

I finally gave in to the darkness's embrace, and lost all consciousness.


	7. The One Who Will Carry My Legacy

**Chapter 7**

**The One Who Will Carry My Legacy**

* * *

I knew something had gone wrong the moment Lady Amontaro arrived. According to Lurk's information, both Lady Amontaro and Lord Aratana were to arrive at Dunwall Tower with each other, on the same boat. And now her father, as she had put it, "…Sends his apologies. Urgent business arose at the last minute, and he needed to see it tended to. He will not be able to come, I'm afraid."

Lady Amontaro and I were surreptitiously keeping our gazes placed on each other the whole while we stood on the pavilion. We both knew we weren't who we were pretending to be. And though she couldn't see my face through the Overseer mask, she knew I didn't buy into the story she provided.

I knew there was only one possibility as to what happened. It was the possibility that Lurk disobeyed her orders. Normally, I wouldn't believe it. But this time, I was certain of it.

My plan to deal with the Regent had been simple. Two nights ago, I sent Lurk to poison the wine casks that were going to be brought to Dunwall Tower for the party. It wasn't even a lethal poison, either. It was a poison often used for faking one's death. You cough a few times, maybe cough up a little blood, and you start choking. After a few minutes and some failed assistance from those of you nearby, you fall over, seemingly lifeless. You'll wake up a few hours later, perfectly fine.

This was nothing more than a scare tactic, to show the Regent what I could have done to him for crossing me, and giving my men to the Overseers.

But now it seems I have a bigger problem to worry about than the fact that the wine wasn't poisoned, and the fact that Lord Aratana suddenly disappeared.

I inwardly sighed. Is it so much to ask that for _one time, _Lurk and Arissa aren't at each other's throats?

I would have thought that the conversations between these high-born fools would have proved useful for _something _later on. They weren't even useful in the least. Their conversations only mocked the memory of the former Empress. They were boasting about how Jessamine Kaldwin never did her job correctly, how her rule was too lax, and more importantly, how she, and Emily, spent far too much time with Corvo. "It's only amazing that Daud or another assassin didn't try to kill her sooner," the High Overseer had remarked.

_Because I had no incentive to kill her, until you morons approached me_, I wanted to say to them.

And besides…they didn't know the truth of the fact. Not that it really mattered, but…Jessamine had plenty of attempts on her life before. Not from me or my men. From others who thought they could perform a job like that with our level of proficiency. Needless to say, the Royal Protector took care of them, and they were never seen or heard from again. He performed his job with more than perfection, as no one even knew the Empress's life had been in danger.

It was sickening, the way they tried to portray her and Corvo as terrible people. Never once had I seen these fools care about what they'd done, nor the fact that they twisted the true Empress so vilely. _And I'm the one who put these idiots into further power. How long will it be before Dunwall crumbles to pieces that are unable to be repaired?_

My eyes would often shift to Jessamine Kaldwin's gravestone. _My hands were the ones that killed her…My hands are the ones that set this city on its path to dissolution. _It felt wrong to be here.

_I never should have killed her._

I watched as Lady Amontaro tilted her head, staring up at the rooftop above the water lock. After a few moments, she turned back to face the Lord Regent, and smiled a sad smile.

"I'm terribly afraid that the hour grows late," she said. "I must bid you all farewell, as I told my Father I would not linger long. I must help him with his business, after all."

"Of course, my dear," the Lord Regent said.

"Allow me to send my Overseers to escort you to the water lock, my Lady," High Overseer Campbell said.

"That will not be necessary, High Overseer. I'll be fine." She bowed low, and walked off of the pavilion.

The High Overseer turned to us and said, "Follow her anyways. Lady Amontaro may be a great ally, but she is also a witch. We may bend the rules for her, but that does not mean she gets a free pass."

I motioned for my fellow "Overseers" to follow me, and we casually walked off the pavilion, following a safe distance behind Lady Amontaro. Those vines that traveled up her body, and those thorns…Somewhere before, I've seen them. But _who _did they belong to?

"Master," Galia said. "Something went wrong, hasn't it? I thought you said that Lurk poisoned the wine."

"That's what she was supposed to do. She chose to disobey, instead," I replied. "Galia, Rapha. I want you two to render everyone on the pavilion unconscious. I don't care how you do it. I want them taught a lesson, one way or another, that you don't screw with a Whaler."

Galia and Rapha bowed. "At once, Master Daud," they said in unison, then transversed off.

"Akila, you're with me. We need to check on Arissa and her team."

"Yes, Master."

Akila and I followed behind Lady Amontaro a little while longer, until she vanished behind a corner. Once Akila and I turned it, we saw her disappear in an odd variation of our transversal. That was when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left hand. I clenched my fist, noticing that the Outsider's Mark was shining brightly and pulsating underneath my glove.

Immediately, I knew what was happening, and I transversed up onto the rooftop above the water lock.

I couldn't recall ever having seen this happen before. Arissa had chosen to bring Thomas, Killian, and Aedan with her, as her team. Now, the three of them lay on the roof, all of them completely motionless. Arissa had vanished entirely.

Akila transversed next to me and cursed. "What in the Void happened up here, Master?" he asked.

It struck me then, what Lurk had done, and why Lord Aratana hadn't shown. Lurk tipped him off that we were going to kill him and his daughter. Lurk knew that Arissa wouldn't make a move until both Lord Aratana and Lady Amontaro were in the same place, at the same time. She made it so that only one of them was there, and one wasn't, because she knew Arissa would wait it out.

And I knew why Lady Amontaro had left so suddenly, now.

She had somehow managed to capture Arissa.

_Did they truly think I wouldn't notice this? That I wouldn't catch on to any of this?_

In all honesty, it wouldn't come as a surprise to me if Lurk had figured out the connection between Arissa and our targets. Lurk was very good at uncovering information that others couldn't see. It made her very dangerous, especially to those with secrets to hide…like Arissa.

Outsider's Blood, I don't think I'll ever understand the detestation between the two of them. Even when they were children, they hated each other. Or, more accurately, Lurk hated Arissa. While Arissa proved immensely dedicated to becoming an assassin, she was afraid of her own shadow, and the darkness of nightfall. Before I turned her into a Whaler, she told me that the darkness reminded her too much of the things her family had done to her.

That was if I was lucky enough to get the kid to talk. She never said more than a few words at a time. If she even spoke at all, it was in a whisper.

The day that Lurk started tormenting her, things started rapidly going to the Void. Arissa had always had quiet anger building up inside of her. One day while they were training together, that anger unleashed itself. She almost killed Lurk. If I hadn't intervened when I did, she would have succeeded. I never figured out the motive for the attack. I always thought that maybe she did it to make me proud, to prove to me that she wasn't weak, and that I didn't need to kill her. Or, maybe it was an accident. Though, I doubted that. Since that day, I've broken up a lot of fights between the two of them. All of which were instigated by Lurk.

I could try and deny it if I wanted to, but it wouldn't solve anything. It was clear that Lurk was responsible for what happened here. The only thing I could do now was make sure I got to Arissa in time, and very hopefully bring her home alive. And I swear by the Outsider that the next time Lurk shows her face, she's going to suffer the consequences for what she's done. Billie might be my lieutenant, but _no one_, not even my own Whalers, get to cross me and get away with it.

"Akila, check Thomas, Killian, and Aedan, and make sure they're still alive," I commanded him.

"Yes, Master."

Akila swiftly went to each of his brothers, checking to make sure each one of them still drew breath. After a few moments, he said, "They are still alive, Master. Unconscious, but still alive."

"Good. Take them home, and make sure they wake up."

Akila bowed. "At once, Master."

Akila went about placing his brothers in such a manner that he could transverse with all of them, and then transversed off.

I reached into my pocket, producing a small vial of Arissa's blood. (You're probably wondering why I carry that, of all things, around with me. I think the answer makes itself rather obvious.) I poured the blood onto my gloved hand, willing a small amount of mana into it. I focused deeply on the blood, and searched for any type of thread I could use to track Arissa.

I smirked. I had found it.

I transversed myself to the origin point of the thread.

Coming out of the transversal, I was greeted by darkness and the sound of water splashing against water. I knew everyone in Dunwall, from its underworld players to its nobility players. I knew this city like I knew the back of my hand. Yet, I had no idea where this place was. That didn't matter, now. A place like this shouldn't be difficult to navigate.

The darkness was no issue for me, but I decided to make my search easier on myself. I closed my eyes, and focused even further on the thread. Then, I still all my thoughts, keeping them solely on the thread, and I opened my eyes, opened my Void Gaze. I could see where the thread was leading to. It drifted down the tunnels to my right.

I drew the Overseer saber and carefully crept down the tunnels. This place was like a labyrinth, though I was navigating it with ease, thanks to the Void Gaze. The deeper down in the tunnels I went, the more I began to hear screams, and then laughing. Instantly, I knew that was Arissa. It was like she almost enjoyed being tortured. You could get her to scream, if you knew how to torture her properly. Even so, she'd just laugh in your face afterwards and say it tickled her. The training I had given her eliminated her pain receptors. When she told me her arcane bond hurt, I was surprised, though I didn't tell her I was. She even seemed surprise at the fact it did. And I knew it bothered her.

I quickened my pace as much as I dared to. The deeper the tunnels went, the deeper they became submerged in water, and given the way sound resonates in here, it'd betray my position almost instantly. Even with my Void Gaze, I couldn't be entirely certain if there were any surprises waiting for me. More importantly, I didn't want Lord Aratana to hear someone coming, and then decide to execute Arissa.

_Hang in there, Arissa…I know you can._

The screams grew louder as I came to a corner. I heard weeping, now. I peered around the corner, and saw a doorway that led into a small room, where the water suddenly was nowhere to be seen. I saw both Lord Aratana and Lady Amontaro inside. Arissa was lying on the ground in nothing more than her underclothes, and she was held down by chains. I saw her shuddering, and how she was folded in on herself. Her arcane bond was glowing.

"Father," I heard Lady Amontaro say. "I sense a presence nearby. Someone is coming."

"Then go deal with it," he snapped.

Well…it seems like I'll have to do this "diplomatically."

I deactivated my Void Gaze, and stepped out from behind the corner. I walked into the room, twirling the saber in my hand.

"Care to tell me what you think you're doing with that girl?" I asked, lacing more than just darkness into my voice.

Both Lady Amontaro and Lord Aratana turned at the same time to look at me. She drew a blade, and he drew a dagger.

"Explain to me at once how you found this place, Overseer," Lord Aratana demanded.

Arissa looked up at me, managing to get herself onto her hands and knees. She tried to laugh, but ended up coughing up blood instead. "H-he is…n-no zealot," she said shakily. "H-he is…your w-worst…nightmare."

Lord Aratana kicked Arissa sharply. With a shriek of pain, she fell onto the ground again, face first. "Quiet, worthless girl! Did I give you permission to speak!?"

Arissa was whimpering, and I noticed her arcane bond beginning to glow noticeably and steadily brighter. She was using her magic to try and fortify the inside of her body. She said she no longer felt the pain from her arcane bond, but it was still somewhat fragile. With the amount of magic she had to be using…They were killing her. _She won't be able to hold on for much longer._

"Keep doing that and you'll regret it," I said to Lord Aratana.

"And who are you, precisely?"

"I'm insulted, Lord Aratana. You dare come to _my _city, _my _territory, and you don't know who _I _am, even though you're supposedly the best spy in Serkonos?" I said, lacing much more darkness into my words. "I am exactly who she said I was. I am your worst nightmare. I am an Agent of the Outsider," I gave a mocking bow. "I am the Knife of Dunwall. Now, step away from the girl, or you'll die."

Lord Aratana laughed spitefully. He grabbed Arissa by her hair and forcibly pulled her up onto her feet. He put his dagger to her neck. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She didn't appear afraid. She was daring Lord Aratana to slice her throat.

"Making idle threats, are we? What is this wench worth to you, Knife of Dunwall? She's nothing more than a bastard child. A slave girl! She was _nothing_ as a child, and she is _nothing _as a woman. She will _always _be _nothing!_"

I inhaled sharply, drawing in a mass amount of mana from my reserve. I just needed to keep him talking a little longer…

"She's your daughter. Illegitimate, yes, but that's your fault, now isn't it?" I retorted. "How could you dishonor a child? How could you turn her into your personal slave to beat as you so desired? It's no wonder she came to me, to become one of my men. I'm more of a father to her than you'll ever be."

"I noticed that you avoided my question. What. Is. She. Worth. To you?"

I watched tears slowly run down Arissa's cheeks. _Pain or fear? I can't decide…_

I twirled the saber in my hand one more time. "What is she worth to me? More than anyone even realizes," I paused for effect. "She's the one who will carry my legacy."

Arissa's eyes suddenly snapped open. They were blacker than the Void itself, like the Outsider's. Her chains melted harmlessly off of her body, and she spun viciously, elbowing Lord Aratana in the nose. He fell back, and she gracefully dodged his blade as he tried to slice her throat. Lady Amontaro rushed towards her, to try and pull her away, but I ensnared her inside a tethering. I'd been building up mana to bend Time, but it appeared that fate wanted to dictate these events differently.

Arissa's arcane bond was glowing more than fiercely, now. She raised her left hand into the air, and ensnared her father inside a tethering. Then she threw him towards the wall. He fell onto the ground with a loud thud, but his dagger was nearby. She prowled towards him with a predator's grace, and he immediately grabbed the dagger and shoved it into her abdomen.

She didn't even scream. It did nothing but anger her.

She grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him up off the ground, the dagger still inside of her. It was like she hadn't even noticed it.

"It is time you met my true Master," the voice that spoke was not her own. "It is time for you to meet Death!"

She pulled the dagger out of her abdomen, and used it to slice open her father's neck. She threw him down to the ground, and stabbed him once more, for good measure. She left it inside him, and she stumbled away.

Lady Amontaro finally broke free of my tethering, though I immediately re-ensnared her. Arissa's arcane bond stopped glowing, and blood poured out from her wound. She collapsed suddenly. I ran over to her and caught her in my free arm before she fell onto the ground. Only then did I release Lady Amontaro from the tethering, because I needed to press my hand against Arissa's wound. She hit the ground with a thud, her sword clattering uselessly on the ground.

Lady Amontaro stared down at her dead father, then shifted her gaze up to me. She got up onto her knees, groveling.

"Please, Daud!" she pleaded. "I…I can explain all of this, I swear it!"

"Please do, Lorena," I said. "I expected better from you."

"I…I never meant…I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to take her…" Lorena said. "I never wanted to hurt her, I swear!"

"It's amusing what people will swear when they look death in the eye," I retorted. "I bet you're no different."

Arissa's breathing was stilling, becoming strained, and I felt her warmth being sapped from her body. She was becoming frozen to the touch.

"Please, Daud. You know I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to see her hurt…But I get the feeling that whatever I say to you won't convince you to let me go."

"You're right. It probably won't. But I'm feeling generous today. I'll give you a chance to convince me to spare your life."

"I…What?"

"I remember an older sister who wanted nothing but to protect the younger half-sister. I remember that you brought her to me, and then you ran back to the Aratana Estate after you helped Arissa escape it. So I question your motives. Why you decided to work for your father, for instance. For now, I give you your life. But you're coming with me. I will decide your fate later on, when I have less pressing matters to attend to."

Lorena lowered her head and nodded. "Very well. It appears I am yours, then."

I summoned one of my assassins to me. He transversed into the room almost immediately.

"What is your will, Master?" Kent asked.

"Apprehend her," I commanded.

Lady Amontaro's eyes widened in shock, as Kent went over and hit her with the hilt of his blade. He knocked her unconscious on the first attempt, and lifted her into his arms.

"Take Lady Amontaro to the storage vats, and lock her up tight. Also, bind and blindfold her. She has transversal powers like ours. I want to make sure she won't be able to get very far, should she try to escape," I said. "And make sure you place some extra guards in the building, while you're at it. Send someone for me when she wakes up."

"As you wish, Master," Kent replied and transversed off.

I looked down at Arissa in my arms and whispered to her, "Stay with me. I can't afford to lose you. You're too young to be meeting Death himself."

* * *

I had transversed myself to my quarters and placed Arissa down on my bed. I swiftly went about gathering everything I needed to clean and bandage her stab wound, as well as various other minor wounds she had received. Having finally gathered everything, I set about cleaning them all. All the while, I was carefully siphoning energy from my Outsider's Mark into her arcane bond, in the hopes that slowly regenerating it would keep her alive.

She nearly died once. I refused to let her die, now.

After all, I had my reasons.

There was a reason why I wanted her in the chain of command, even if it heightened the tensions between her and Lurk. I was more than troubled by what the Outsider told me. More so than anything he's ever said before. Until I determined what Delilah would be, whether it, or she, would be a threat or an alley, I needed someone who could run the brotherhood in my absence. And seeing as I don't know if Delilah is a person or an inanimate object, I'd need Lurk's skills to uncover its true identity. Thus, she would be coming with me when I performed my investigations.

And truth be told, having Arissa run the brotherhood in my absence wasn't the only reason I was promoting her…

Ever since she was a child, I'd been training her to be the perfect weapon. Every one of my Whalers is good, whether they inherit some of my abilities or not. But Arissa was special. She had inherited more of my abilities than any one of my Whalers combined. When she has a blade in her hand, she is a force to be reckoned with. In a way, she's like watching the former Royal Protector fight. She's a whirlwind on a path of destruction. And when she wields her magic, she controls it with the deadly grace of a decades old Pandyssian witch. Even leadership skills seem to come naturally to her, as the men will follow her orders without question.

If I die of these consequences the Outsider spoke of or if Delilah kills me…I wanted someone to carry on the legacy I've spent years creating for myself. I could even see Arissa becoming "The Knife of Dunwall." Though, sometimes I wonder if that title really belongs to me, or to her.

I often see myself reflected in her, like she's the child I never had. _And now look what I've turned her into…What if she follows in my footsteps? Follows in the mistakes I've made?_

I finished cleaning her wounds, and began to slowly wrap them. She stirred at my touch, a slight groan of pain, and then nothing. A small amount of warmth had returned to her body, though not much. She still felt frozen to the touch. I sighed. I knew the situation was ultimately out of my hands, and in those of the Outsider. Like everything seemed to be.

I heard a transversal on the first floor of the room. I finished wrapping the bandages around Arissa's wounds, and walked down the staircase. Galia stood waiting by the desk, a smirk across his face.

"Did you get revenge for your brothers?" I asked him.

"Well…When the others wake up, they will certainly wonder what kind of party they had."

"What did you and Rapha do, exactly?"

"Well, first of all, it was Rapha's idea. Secondly, we knocked everyone unconscious, and then found a nice secluded corner to place them in. Then we positioned them in a very…scandalous manner, where the City Watchmen, or perhaps another noble, would find them."

I shrugged. "A good enough improvisation, I suppose."

"We did our best, Master," he said. "Have you brought Lady Arissa home?" He paused, then quickly added, "I heard about what happened from Akila."

"I have brought her home."

"How is she?"

"I've yet to determine if she'll survive the night," I said. That was all I was willing to relent to the men, for now.

"I will tell the others, once Killian, Aedan, and Thomas awaken. What are your orders?"

"Stand on guard with the others in the storage vat building. I have Lady Amontaro being held captive there at the moment, and I want all the guards that can be spared watching her."

Galia bowed. "As you wish, Master."

He transversed off.

I went back upstairs and leaned down next to the bed. I took Arissa's hand in mine, slowly stroking her forehead with the other. I was stunned at what she had done. I had no idea what even happened to her. Stranger still, it was…wrong, seeing her go from a deadly, yet fearless, assassin, to this frightened-looking girl. It made me realize how fragile Arissa truly was, despite all I'd put her through over the years.

I may have erased her memories, but if she awakens, I know she'll have questions about who she truly was. Whether or not I decided to answer them was another question. Her former life had nearly destroyed her. She was lucky to have come out of her former life with sanity…Although, more specifically, it was a lust for blood.

Assassins should never feel emotion. Of course, we're all guilty of breaking that rule at least once in our lives. I couldn't blame the girl for how she looked right now. Given what she'd done, she had every right to be scared. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to her, if she ever does awaken…If she even survives.

Would she be the same regretless Arissa I know, or will she be a permanently damaged shell of the Whaler I've watched grow up from a twelve-year-old girl, to a twenty-two year old woman, a warrior?

It was out of my hands. Time would have to solve this mystery.

* * *

The morning sun slowly began to rise higher in the sky. The wind carried the scent of rotting Weepers, thanks to the City Watch's deciding to dump their corpses right outside of the Rudshore Gate. Arissa's condition hadn't improved from the previous night. Her breathing was less strained, but she still felt worse than the touch of Tyvian snow. In all honesty, this made no sense to me. Was this because of…something she had magically done, something because of her arcane bond, or something different?

I heard a transversal down on the first floor. I went down to investigate it. Lurk was standing in the center of the room, a look on her face that spoke complete and utter innocence in the matters at hand.

"I came back as soon as I was able to, sir," she said. "How's Arissa doing?"

"Cut the crap, Billie," I said authoritatively. "I know what you did."

Lurk's expression faltered a bit. That falter was more than enough to tip me off. It was clear to me now that she had disobeyed me. "I don't know what you mean, sir." Those words were a lie.

"I doubt that. Everyone saw how you were reluctant to follow Arissa's orders before we even left the Flooded District. I know that you _disobeyed _my direct orders, both to follow Arissa's command in the matter of the infiltration, and to deliver the poisoned wine casks to Dunwall Tower. And on top of _that_, I'm aware of the fact you discovered the connection between Arissa and our targets. You tipped them off, and got Arissa captured," I paused. "Did you honestly _think _you could get away with this, Billie?"

"Sir, I did no such thing!"

"Your expression already faltered. You're guilty, and I should kill you for what you've done. You deserve no less."

"She…"

"Don't even _start _with me, Billie. I have an entire brotherhood that can vouch for everything that's happened between you and Arissa. They'll all say the same thing: _You _instigated each and every event. You deserve to die for this betrayal, but you know what? I won't kill you. That'd be a waste of your talents." I paused intentionally. "You're going to follow my orders _exactly _on this. I want you to start investigating Delilah. And while I'm at it, I'm also exiling you from the Flooded District, and the brotherhood.

"Don't even think about coming back here, unless you have information that's worth your life. You're going to leave that information at one of the dead drops in the city. Know this, Billie: If Arissa succumbs to death's embrace, then I _will _find you, wherever you are, and I will kill you. A death for a death."

"But, sir…"

"This pathetic war of yours has gone on too long. I'm sick of it, and so is everyone else," I said darkly. "Now get out of my sight."

Lurk's expression turned from innocent, to complete seething hatred of me. It reflected in her voice. "Yes, _sir._"

She transversed off.

I heard the sound of something hitting the floor upstairs. Then I heard cries of agony. I transversed up to the second floor, leaning down to Arissa. She had fallen out of the bed, and was convulsing. Her indigo eyes were open, and appeared bloodshot. She was looking straight at me, but couldn't see me. She wasn't aware of what was happening around her. I recognized the look. I'd experienced it enough times myself. Her eyes were glazed over, darting one direction to another in rapid succession. Her breathing became rapid, panicked. She was straining herself again.

"Arissa, I know you can hear me," I said very calmly, and as softly as I knew how. "Calm down and embrace what's happening. You know that he won't hurt you. Just push forward, and stay strong. It's how you earn your freedom of that place."

Her convulsions became shudders, then slowly became rarer. For a while after that, nothing happened. I lifted her up into my arms and gently placed her back down on the bed. Suddenly, her arcane bond began to glow again, and the outlines of a Mark began to appear on her left hand. Again, she cried out, as the Mark of the Outsider seared itself into her deathly pale skin. Then, in a small, brilliant flash of light, the final design of the Mark appeared.

"I…I…d-d-don't…understand," she stuttered. "W-w-why…m-me…?"

I took a ragged piece of cloth, wrapping it around her hand. I wanted to keep the Mark a secret for a while.

I heard a transversal behind me. "Master," Aeolos said. "Lady Amontaro is awake."

I stood up, turning to face him. "Watch her with your life."

"Yes, Master, of course," he said, then noticed the cloth wrapped around her hand. "What happened to her?"

"I suspect I know the answer, but I'd rather hear it from her, first. Keep this a secret."

Aeolos shrugged. "She must have cut herself or something, then…"

I transversed to the storage vat building. This building was down the street from the Rudshore Rail Station. Before this district was flooded out, it served as a whale oil storage facility for the businesses around here. Now we used this building to house targets we needed delivered alive, or interrogated. It was a very dual-purpose building.

Lady Amontaro had been placed in one of the long-emptied vats, though there were still whale oil stains on the steel. She didn't look pleased, but she wasn't scared, either. She was a trained assassin, just like we were.

It's time to see where her loyalties really lie.

Hearing my approach, Lorena looked up at me and asked, "How's my sister? Is she okay?"

"Still alive," was all I relented to her.

She considered that, then sighed. "I suppose you want to know where my loyalties lie, don't you?"

"It's why I took you alive in the first place."

"My loyalties lie only to Arissa, and to my daughter. Believe me; I wouldn't trust my husband with a twenty foot pole. The only reason, I swear it to you Daud, that I allied myself with my father was to keep him from searching for Arissa. I wanted to keep her protected."

"And this hasn't changed?"

She shook her head. "No, it hasn't. I never wanted anything to do with my Father. However, he needed to believe I was still loyal to him. I couldn't let him or Mother suspect I was responsible for smuggling Arissa out of our estate," she paused. "Mother died a long time ago, and now that Father is dead, I'm considering killing my husband and taking over the Brotherhood of the Silent Blades. Everyone my Father had allied himself with will suffer the consequences tenfold. You can count on that."

I considered that. "So this was nothing more than a ruse? You were honestly just doing this to protect Arissa, even though you might end up killing her?"

Lorena cringed. "Yes…but I never wanted to hurt her! Everything I've ever done has been to protect her. I hated having to watch Father torture her, watching my fool of a brother…" She trailed off. "This doesn't change anything, does it? You were contracted to kill me, weren't you? And I know that you always uphold your contracts. I understand, though…Nature of the business, and all that."

"There was never a contract," I said.

"Then why attack us? There's no way this was Arissa's doing. She doesn't remember a damned thing, right? She probably doesn't even know who I am," she paused. "Wait. You were after us for our alliance to the Lord Regent, weren't you? He did something to you, I'm assuming. You wouldn't bother trying to destroy some of his power otherwise…"

"You're correct, but my reasons are my own. To answer you, yes. You and your father were the only two targets I had planned to kill. The others were to be…mildly harmed."

She hesitated. "So what are you doing to do with me, Daud?" she asked.

"I'm not finished yet," I told her. "Those vines on your body. Are those your father's doing?"

Lorena nodded. I could tell the suspense of her fate was getting to her. She was trying to stifle tears. "They hurt worse than the Void…I'd take them off, if I could, but…I can't. I just want them off…"

"And your daughter…How old is she?"

"Six months…"

I sighed inwardly. I had a feeling I was going to regret this later…but I've already done a lot of things I regret. Killing Lady Amontaro would accomplish nothing. And this time, it felt…wrong to take a child away from her mother, even if the child wouldn't know it yet. _Killing Jessamine Kaldwin accomplished nothing, either…Except for bringing about the end of the City of Dunwall that much sooner._

I pushed the thought away. There would be time for regrets later.

"I have a job for you, Lorena," I said.

That amused her. "An assassin hiring another assassin? You don't plan to kill me, then?"

"For now, no. I'm letting you go, but there's a catch."

"There always is."

"I want you to do what you said you'd do. I want you to kill your husband, and take command of the Silent Blades. Kill all the spies, and keep the assassins. However, keep only the ones you trust. Kill off the ones you don't. After that, I want you and your remaining assassins to pledge yourselves to my brotherhood, as our allies."

She thought that over. "My life for my loyalty, hmm? _Quid pro quo?_"

"_Quid pro quo_."

"If it means I get to keep my life and get to see my sister and daughter again…" She trailed off. "Consider it done."

"Just remember one thing, Lorena. If you even _think _about double-crossing me, we'll come calling."

She smiled. "Knife of Dunwall, I assure you, I'm not stupid enough to betray any of you. My father would have never admitted it, but if we hadn't of played dirty, I know that Arissa could have taken him singlehandedly. Your men are immensely experienced dancers of Death, and I'd hate to have to face the Master of the dance himself. Or his apprentice, for that matter."

"Betray us, and you'll get to see the dance firsthand."

Her smile never once faltered. "I do not doubt that, Knife of Dunwall. I do not doubt that one bit…"


	8. The Shrine

**Chapter 8**

**The Shrine**

* * *

The Month of Darkness had turned into the Month of High Cold, quickly becoming the Month of Ice, and finally turning into the Month of Hearths, which was nearing its end in two week's time. Time was passing quickly, and with each passing day, I knew our struggles were only going to increase.

It hasn't been easy for the brotherhood over the last three months. The men couldn't care less about Lurk being exiled. No one missed her, and that didn't surprise me. But they did miss Arissa, and I began to doubt her ever returning to this world. Her condition had never improved. On some days, she felt like ice, while on others, she felt like fire. Most of the time, she can barely breathe, and sometimes, she opens her eyes. They're always distant, always bloodshot.

No one knows what's wrong with her. And truthfully, neither do I.

Sustaining her life has been difficult, and now I often wonder if I should just put the poor child out of her misery. In the end, the only thing that kept me from plunging my blade through her delicate frame was the Mark on her hand.

It was bad enough losing both Lurk and Arissa. Adding insult to injury is the fact we've fallen behind on our contracts, something that's never happened to us before. But that was before I lost seven men to the Rat Plague, another two to the former Empress's bodyguard, having to exile my lieutenant for attempting to kill my successor, and my successor lying in a coma she may never awaken from.

Over the past several weeks, I'd been fortunate enough to be able to recruit six men into the brotherhood. So far, only one recruit seemed promising. I swear it to the Outsider himself that the other five couldn't even fight Lady Boyle, if their lives depended on it.

I leaned against a wall in the training room, watching. Kieron, Galia, Aedan, and Akila were helping to train the recruits. Today, they were working on blade combat. These four are some of my best master assassins, and watching the recruits trying to match the speed and technique of them was borderline insulting.

"Pavel! Hit harder!" I said authoritatively. "Women can hit harder than that!"

Pavel went to strike Kieron, but Kieron transversed out of the way, appearing behind him. Kieron kicked Pavel's feet out from under him, then placed the tip of his blade at his throat once he hit the ground.

"Got you," Kieron smirked.

"What am I doing wrong?" Pavel asked.

Kieron helped him up, then looked to me. I nodded my consent for him to answer. "In truth? You're doing everything wrong. You're holding your blade too low, your stance is too close together, and watching you fight is like watching a headless chicken. You don't know where its body is going to fall, but you know all its capable of is running around."

Pavel just stared blankly. "So…I'm a headless chicken?"

Kieron placed his blade at Pavel's neck, and laughed. "Metaphorically, yes. But if I truly wished you headless, you would be, by now." He lowered his blade, and he and Pavel stepped off to the side to stand with the others, Pavel with the novices and Kieron with the masters.

"Galia and Fisher," I said. "I want you two up against each other. Same as before. And Galia…No mercy."

Galia nodded. "As you command, Master."

Galia drew his blade and rushed in. Steel rang against steel, much to my surprise. Fisher had blocked the attack, and was now trying to retaliate. He had a lot of potential to go far in the brotherhood, if he could keep up with my master assassins.

"Kieron, come here," I said.

Kieron came over to me, shaking his head disappointedly. "And here I thought Pavel would have gotten better by now," he muttered.

I gave it thought. "Teach Pavel in the art of crossbows, instead. See what happens. His stance appears more suited for a ranged weapon, rather than a blade."

"As you wish, Master."

Frantic footsteps ran down the hallway towards us.

"Master!" Aeolos said, stopping before he ran into Kieron. "Arissa's awake! She's actually awake!"

"Take me to her," I said, before turning to face Kieron. "Watch over them, and make sure we don't lose any limbs."

The novices all stared at me, except for Fisher. He stayed focused on the fight. The others muttered among themselves, wondering if we'd truly lost limbs to training accidents before. In actuality, the answer was no. I made sure we used dull blades. Even now, their blades are dull. But the novices didn't need to know that. In time, they'd probably figure it out.

Or so I would hope.

Aeolos took me to the quarters he and Arissa shared. Towards the end of the Month of Darkness, Aeolos insisted that I allow him to keep an eye on her. When I looked into his gaze, I knew there was something more in that gaze than just the fear of losing her. He loves her, and that's something I've never seen from any one of my Whalers before. The ritual I use erases all the memories of their former lives. In turn, it causes them to know few emotions. Love isn't one of them.

Call what I do to my recruits cruel, if you must, but it's necessary. I won't elaborate further than that.

As it turns out, Aeolos was right. Arissa was, indeed, awake. She sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her eyes. At the sound of our footsteps, she finally looked up. Shame and sadness was painted across her expression.

"I'll leave the two of you alone," Aeolos said. "Galia and the others could use help, anyways." He transversed off.

There was an awkward silence between us. If this was any other Whaler, I would have scolded them for failing their mission so horrifically. I would have told them they should have been able to adapt to the events, and that they'd be lucky if they got back into my good graces.

But I couldn't say that to her.

It wasn't her fault that the mission failed. It failed only because of Lurk. The infiltration tactic had worked perfectly. In an odd way, the rest of the plan worked out, despite Lurk's disobedience. Lord Aratana is dead and rotting in a cave somewhere, and Lady Amontaro has allied herself with my Whalers and is currently working on finding suitable recruits to send to us.

"_Admit it to yourself, Daud,_" I heard the Outsider say in the back of my head. "_There's a real reason why you won't hurt her anymore. And you know that reason…_"

He was right.

Arissa once called me the only real father she's ever had…and how could I ever forget those choked words, or the fact that she thought of me that highly? I held a blade at her throat. I was choking her to her death. And yet she stared me down, without fear or regret. I would have killed her for questioning me that day, and I was about to. She knew it, too…

Arissa looked away from my gaze and whispered, "Kill me, Master."

I went over and sat down next to her on the bed. "Why would I?"

"Because I deserve nothing less than death for my failure."

"No, Arissa. You don't deserve to die for that," I paused. _I can't keep this a secret from her forever. I need to tell her. _"There are a lot of things I've kept secret from you, and I believe it's time I finally told you of them. Starting with this."

I carefully peeled the cloth around her left hand away, revealing to her for the first time the Mark of the Outsider himself that was permanently branded into her flesh.

She paled at the sight of it. I took off my glove, and showed her my Mark. They were identical to each other. Arissa was never obtuse. She'd only gazed upon the Mark once in her lifetime. She knew what it meant.

"I…I do not remember…getting this," she said with a trembling voice. She looked up at me again. "Why me? What is…What is so important about me?"

"Truth be told, Arissa, I still don't understand half the things the Outsider tells me. I don't understand his motivations. But if he's been speaking with you, then I suspect he's been planning on doing this for a while. Did he speak with you during the Dunwall Tower job?"

Arissa nodded. "I…I sort of remember his words. Everything feels so…fuzzy now," she paused. "I remember being choked out, and being unable to use my powers. Then the Outsider told me to give in to my attacker. He said if I made it interesting enough for him, that I would not regret it…"

"What else do you remember?"

"I remember…the darkness. It…never left me. Something was controlling me…It took my mind away from me and split it into…pieces. I remember the unbearable cold…" She wrapped her arms around me suddenly, exactly like a child would when they're afraid. She whispered so quietly, I strained to hear what she said. "Please do not let the darkness take me away again…"

I gently ran my hand through her longer hair. "What do you mean by darkness? What happened to you, Arissa?"

"I do not…know. I remember my father beating me…calling me slave. Then the cold came, and…the rest is lost to me," she paused. "What did he mean by slave, Master? What am I?"

I hesitated. Over these past months I've been debating answering that question, if it ever arose. I knew it would, but I couldn't be certain. In the end, she did have a right to know who she was in her former life…

I decided to tell her the basic details. _Perhaps one day I'll tell her the full story…_For now, I wanted to see how she did knowing very little. _She still won't know what her real name is…But she will never be Arissana again. She will always be Arissa, even in her own eyes._

"Simply? You're unfortunate," I said. "In Serkonos, your family is royalty. Your father cheated on your mother with another woman, and that's how you came into this world. You're a bastard child. It's not your fault that you are. Your real mother thought your father was a better man than he turned out to be. He accepted you into the family, but at the cost of making sure you couldn't inherit anything or be married off. So he kept you around as a household slave that he abused for the fun of it."

"But if I was born in Serkonos…how did you find me?"

"You were a mystery for me to solve, a name given to me by the Outsider. The last thing I expected was to be smuggling a tormented twelve-year-old girl out of Serkonos."

I felt her tensing, felt her hesitation. "Is he right, Master? Am I truly nothing?"

"If you were nothing, then I would have killed you a long time ago, Arissa," I said. "You know that."

She stayed silent.

"Arissa, we don't get to choose who we're born to. It was not your choice to be a bastard child. It was not mine to be born to a woman always mistaken for a witch. We have to make our own choices, choose our own paths, and accept what comes with those choices. I don't know what happened to you while you were unconscious, or what you became when Lord Aratana was torturing you. But you're special to me. I wasn't lying when I said you're the one who will carry my legacy."

Arissa looked at me, confused.

"I think you've always known you meant something to me. Have I been tough on you? Yes. You're playing in a dangerous game. You have to withstand the pressure and responsibilities that come with being an assassin. However, I don't think you've ever realized how much you actually mean to me. Lurk was never my first choice to be lieutenant, you know."

"She was not?"

"No, she wasn't. I did what I had to do, for both your sakes. The last thing I want is to die and have her carrying on my legacy. I don't trust her with it. Somehow, I've defied the fact that many assassins die young. But I know the bullet or blade with my name on it is coming any day, now. If, by some miracle, I get to die of old age instead of the consequences the Outsider spoke of, I want a successor."

Arissa let go of me and straightened herself, so she sat up properly. She watched me intently.

"When I got in contact with your half-sister to help me get you out of the Aratana Estate, and when I smuggled you out of Serkonos, the last thing I thought of was that I'd one day want to make you my successor. I had nothing but disdain and doubt because I thought you'd be nothing more than a pretty face. Then you defied all my expectations.

"I watched you grow up with talents far beyond what I originally thought you possessed. You came to inherit more of my abilities than any other Whaler. You inherited all of my resistances. Swordsmanship and magic came naturally to you. The men will even rally behind you, as though you're their master, not I. And now I see the design on the back of your hand. Now I realize that you were always meant to be the one to replace me when I die."

There was a long stretch of silence that followed after I spoke. I don't think Arissa ever thought me capable of saying those words. I saw that on her expression. After a few minutes, she finally stood up from the bed, placed her right hand over her heart, and kneeled on the ground before me.

"I would be honored to be your successor, my Master. I swear to it by the Outsider himself that The Knife of Dunwall shall never die, so long as I draw breath," she paused. "Yet, I know I will have much to do to earn my place at your side. Tell me everything I have missed in the time I have been unconscious."

After she stood up and sat back down on the bed, I began to tell her everything.

I told her that she had been unconscious for almost four months. I told her about how we'd fallen behind on our contracts, and that I'd recruited more men into the brotherhood to try and resolve this. I told her about how I exiled Lurk for her disobedience. She was smirking at that, as I figured she would.

I told her about how the Rat Plague had grown more serious. More and more Weepers were coming into the Flooded District, now. Each day, they inched closer and closer to our territory. The sentries were killing at least four Weepers every three days or so.

Then I told her how I spared her half-sister's life, and how I made her pledge her allegiance to the brotherhood in exchange for her life. And so far, Lady Amontaro had stayed true to her word.

"Lorena Amontaro means nothing to me, Master," she said. "Yet…it is strange knowing I have family who cares for me, given what you have told me. I do not know her. Therefore, I care nothing for her."

"I expected as much. But I wouldn't tell her that, if we ever see her again."

She nodded. "What of my test, Master? I assume you have something planned for me?"

"Since I didn't get the opportunity to properly test you before, due to Lurk's interference, I am devising a proper test for you to make up for it. However, I have no desire to overwork you, considering how long you've been in a coma and the fact that you nearly died multiple times. Do not withhold anything from me, Arissa. Tell me how you feel."

Arissa considered her answer for a few moments. "I am tired, Master. I will not deny it. I am also aware of the fact that I was stabbed. I saw the scar. Truth be told, I desire nothing more than to put past events behind me. Whatever it is you have planned for me, I _want _to do it. If I am to succeed you, then I must follow by your example. For that, I've no desire to rest any longer. I have rested for far too long. I desire to learn how to use my new abilities. I wish to train the new recruits. I wish to do everything that will be expected of me, when I become the Master."

"I'll give you some time to get back on your feet and ready your equipment. Meet me at the Rudshore Gate in two hours. We leave at nightfall."

"Yes, Master."

I placed my glove back over my hand and transversed out of the room, to my quarters. I took the bounty ledger from its place on the bookshelf and skimmed through it. Currently, there were six contracts sitting uncompleted. One of them would serve as Arissa's test, and I believe I have the perfect one.

Donovan Boothe, a minor nobleman in Parliament. Our employer demanded that his death look like an accident. I don't accept demands. We take on the contract, kill the target how we deem fit, and once the target is eliminated, you pay us and we leave you alone. Our employer was incredibly insistent in this case, though. I relented and said we'd arrange an "accident," but that it'd cost extra.

Arissa has a sharp mind, but never before has she arranged an "accident." I believe that this contract will be a worthy test for her. However, I first needed to discover what powers the Outsider had imbued in her. For that, I would take her to a shrine, to find her a rune. Tomorrow, I'd worry about testing her.

Of course, I didn't plan to tell her of her test until _after _I discovered some of her newfound power.

With night nearly upon us, now, I took my vapor mask from its spot on the shelf, and donned my mask. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn it. I rarely did, now. Let them see my face. It didn't matter anymore. However, since the City Watch started dumping the corpses of plague victims almost literally on our doorstep, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

I transversed down to the Rudshore Gate, and waited.

* * *

Once Arissa had come down to the Rudshore Gate - dressed in her full garb, I should add - I took her by the wrist and transversed us both to the Tailors' District. The street I had transversed us to was mostly deserted, in the worst part of the district. This street was primarily used by habber weed dealers, thugs, prostitutes, and murderers hiding from the City Watch or trying to pass themselves off as assassins.

When an assassin from my brotherhood walks on this street, the underworld rabble slinks back into whatever shadows they came forth from to ply their trade. They know who we are. They've seen my wanted poster. They know what we've done. What I alone have done. They, like many others, are fearful of us. By exploiting this fear, it almost always guarantees us safe passage in the underworld. No one is ever certain if someone hired us to kill them. Yet if we were here to do so, hiding wouldn't help them.

And neither would running.

I led Arissa into an abandoned apartment. A shrine to the Outsider had been built in the far corner. It seemed to give off an unnatural glow on its own, even though there were candles lit in the still-dim room. A whalebone rune sat in the center of the shrine, emitting its strange "song" that sounded similar to that of the bone charms.

"Why have you brought me here, Master?" Arissa asked inquisitively. I could tell she was hearing the "song" by the way she was unknowingly tilting her head, as if to deny its existence.

"Do you know what this is?" I retorted.

She nodded. "It is a shrine to the Outsider. What lies on the shrine is known as a rune."

"I brought you here because you said you wanted to learn how to use your newfound powers. In order for you to do so, you need to use a rune to activate a power."

She looked at me and said quietly, "What must I do?"

The shrine intimidated her, and I couldn't blame her for it. When I first started visiting the shrines as a young man, they intimidated me, as well.

"Kneel before the shrine and place your hands on the rune. When you do this, the Outsider may decide to speak with you. By now I think you're aware of the fact that he enjoys hearing himself talk. If he decides to relay something important to you, though, he makes sure to make it as cryptic as possible. That's his way of telling you not to ignore him," I paused. "Try not to argue with him, either. He doesn't like that. You should also know by now that it's better to answer him only if he questions you directly."

Arissa still stared at me with uncertainty.

"Go on," I gently urged her. "I'll be standing right behind you, should something go wrong."

I heard her take a deep breath as she walked up to the shrine. She kneeled before it, and placed her hands on the rune. Suddenly, the candles in the room began to flicker, and I saw Arissa slump slightly. Then I saw the Outsider appear on the shrine, in a cloud of black smoke. His visage soon became clear. He once told me I was one of the very few people who could truly look upon him. He always appeared in finery, and he always had that mysterious look on his face. Like when someone is hiding something, but…more mysterious than even that. Something about that expression on him made it seem all the more eerie.

Those black holes he called eyes glanced over Arissa, kneeling before him. Then they gazed over to me, to where I was standing more towards the center of the room. Almost immediately, they retrained on her.

"_The Knives of Dunwall,_" he said. "_It sounds appropriate, doesn't it? Just how much longer do you think your brotherhood will survive? Time is rapidly falling away, and the consequences of your contract are almost upon you. Loyalties will be tested, and much blood will be spilled._"

His gaze suddenly shot over to me. "_A successor? I have glimpsed many pathways that you could have taken, Daud, but this one is the most interesting. All of you Whalers never seem to disappoint me. But if I were you, Daud, I would focus more attention on Delilah. Before it is too late._"

Again, his gaze shot back to Arissa. "_As for you…In the days that are to come, your trials will truly begin. Then we shall see if the Knives of Dunwall can handle the pressure._"

He disappeared in a harsh gust of wind and a cloud of smoke. The wind knocked Arissa over. After a moment, she stood up, brushed the dirt off her uniform, and held the rune in her hand. I watched as the power of the rune absorbed itself into her body.

She took in a sharp breath, the rune falling from her hand and landing on the wooden floor with a loud thud. She placed her hand against her forehead, nearly falling over. I went over to her and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. I refused to allow her to fall.

Suddenly, a shimmering shield the same color as a tethering snapped up around us.

"Uh, Master…what am I doing?!" she asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"Calm down, Arissa. Can you control it?" I asked her.

She dropped her hand from her forehead, and suddenly the shield disappeared. When she put her hand back out in front of her, a half-dome shield appeared.

"I've never seen a power like that before," I said.

"Do you think it will actually do something?"

"Only one way to find out."

The shield disappeared once more. I led her outside of the apartment. A thug from the Bottle Street Gang was walking down the street, coming towards us. _Convenient…_

"You there," Arissa said in a low growl. The thug stopped to turn and look at her. "Move, and you shall only make your death last that much longer."

The thug laughed in her face. "Am I supposed to think you tough? What, you have a contract out on me? You one of those Whaler guys?"

She didn't answer. She only drew her blade and rushed at him. He tried to deflect her attack, but failed. At the last second, she pulled away her blade, slashing the thug across his chest. She did it to provoke him.

He laughed in her face once more. "That the best you can do!?"

He reached for his whiskey bottle and took a swig. When he breathed fire, Arissa's Void Shield snapped up in front of her, and the fire bounced back right onto the thug, setting him alight.

He died screaming.

The two of us walked away casually. If any of the underworld rabble had had a suicidal desire to attack us before, they certainly wouldn't have one, now.

"I think that was a rather successful field test," Arissa said. I could almost hear her smirking. Good. That meant the old Arissa was back in control, once more.

"It appeared that way," I replied.

"What now, Master?"

"We return home and get an _actual _contract."

Arissa shrugged. "It was the only thing I could think of to get him to stop walking."

"No one will miss him," I said.

Once we transversed back to the tunnels leading to the Rudshore Gate, Arissa looked at me and asked as we were walking, "Why could I see the Outsider?"

"You saw him because he allowed himself to be seen. I saw him, as well. That's why he addressed me."

"Do you think he is right, Master? Are the consequences of what we did going to hit us soon?"

"Whether or not we want to believe it, Arissa…he's right. Time is crumbling away beneath our feet. I particularly don't like how he mentioned Delilah again."

"I am beginning to dread hearing that name, and I do not know why."

"It seems I may need to track Lurk down. However, if I do decide to bring her back here, I expect the two of you to call a truce until Delilah is dealt with."

She nodded. "I understand, Master. I am willing to accept a truce, as long as I do not have to expect a blade in my back."

"Good. In the meantime, it's important that I see if you're ready to handle the responsibilities that'll come with your new position. I've already selected a contract suited for the first part of your test."

"Will I have to select my own team again?" she asked.

"No. This time, it'll be just the two of us. I want to see what you're capable of firsthand."

Finally approaching the Rudshore Gate, I unlocked it and the two of us walked through it. Then I relocked it and turned to Arissa.

"For now, I want you to rest. You'll need to be at peak condition for your contract tomorrow. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," she bowed and transversed away.

I transversed up to my quarters, took off my mask, and placed it back on the bookshelf in the far corner. Tomorrow, Donovan Boothe would finally be eliminated. That much was certain. As for tracking down Lurk…I'd send someone to check the dead drops to see if she'd left anything at one of them. I had no desire to track her down, asking her to come back to us, unless she truly had something worth her life. I had no intentions of going back on what I'd told her, those long months ago.

Part of me knew and understood that this was a terrible idea. I was acting out of almost sheer desperation. The anger that Lurk left with, there was no doubt about it that she would be plotting something against me, as payback. Just what that would be, exactly, I couldn't be sure. But I needed her.

Despite it all, I needed Billie Lurk.

She'd be the only one who could help me find out just who, or what, Delilah is.


	9. The Accident

**Chapter 9 **

**The "Accident"**

* * *

When sunlight began to paint its rays across the Flooded District, I was silently grateful. The night had seemed to go on forever. I'd been awake for most of it. I could not sleep, no matter how hard I tried. I had no desire to. Normally, I would not be anxious about an upcoming contract. In fact, this was the first time I ever really was. And yet…I understood why.

Before, I had not known the things I know now. Now I know just how much is truly riding on me, that I am more than just a Master Assassin. One day, I was going to become the Master of the brotherhood. Or rather…the Mistress? No. Forget proper titles. Master sounds a lot more…fitting.

Knowing that Master Daud would be awake this early, I transversed to his quarters. He was standing behind his desk, organizing various papers and books, both on the desk and bookshelves. When his gaze finally shifted to look at me, his steely-blue eyes began scrutinizing every detail about me, searching for some form of recognition as to who I was. Then his eyes met mine, and the connection clicked.

"Arissa, what the Void have you done to yourself?" he asked.

I tilted my head questioningly for a moment. Then I realized what he meant. Last night, I had cut away my long tresses, and dyed my hair black. My hair looked like a young boy's, short and disheveled beyond help. It had not been my intention to deceive my Master, but if I could almost deceive him…Imagine what I could do with people who are not trained at seeing through disguises.

"I wanted to put past events behind me as much as possible. I felt that by altering my appearance, it would help me to do so." I paused. There was another reason why I had done what I did. "Master, if we are going to be walking into a great inferno soon, then allow me to take some of its burns for you. You have saved my life multiple times. It is the least I can do."

Master Daud seemed amused by my words. "You look eerily like the child I never had. Now more so than ever before. Sometimes I wonder if this is why the Outsider guided me to you."

"Does this bother you, Master?" I asked.

"My fate is my own, Arissa. It always has been, and always will be," he said. "I don't want you getting yourself killed trying to protect me."

I smiled softly. "Master, with all due respect…You do realize I will not give you a choice on this, right?"

Master Daud scoffed. "I didn't think you would," he paused. "Are you ready for your assignment?"

I nodded. "Who shall I silence?"

I walked up to the desk. The papers Master Daud had been laying out consisted of all the information I needed to know about my target.

"Study all of this carefully," he replied. "Tell me about your target."

My eyes slowly darted over each piece of paper, etching every single detail into my memory, including the most worthless details.

"My target is a minor noble in Parliament, a man named Donovan Boothe. For the most part, the other nobles do not have a vendetta against him. In fact, he is rather well-respected. From what I can tell, it appears that he wronged our employer. How, I cannot say. My target frequents the Golden Cat at least four times a week. Judging by his habit of using habber weed, among other things, I would say he most often uses the Smoking Room."

"Good," Master Daud said. "But you're still missing a detail."

My eyes darted over the information again. My eyes finally settled on a line in fine print, on the sheet of paper given to us directly from our employer. "Our employer requests that his death be…an accident? No, this cannot be right," I looked at Master Daud, incredulous. "Since when did we start arranging accidents?"

"Since I made our employer pay us quadruple the standard fee for this job. Is this going to be a problem, Arissa?"

"No, Master," I answered. "It will not."

"How do you intend to kill your target?"

"Judging from the habits of my target…I see two possibilities, but only one of them with an effective outcome. The first possibility would be I'd fill the smoking pipes with something stronger than habber weed, and hope my target dies from an overdose, yet I doubt the effectiveness of that. No. I intend to fill the smoking pipes with hemlock essence. It will be quicker, deadlier, and guarantees the kill."

"And what happens if your target isn't in the Smoking Room?"

I shrugged. "I will improvise. Though, perhaps he will accidently fall over the railing of a balcony, meeting a watery doom with the aid of the hagfish, who eagerly await their next meal."

Master Daud rolled his eyes. He reached underneath his desk and handed me a vial of hemlock essence. "Let's move, Arissa. Time is against us, as always."

* * *

Master Daud and I stood on a rooftop that overlooked the Golden Cat. The Cat itself was a rather beautiful building. Though like many things in Dunwall, things that held the most beauty held a dark purpose. In this case, you could call the Golden Cat a bathhouse or a brothel, and either way you would not be wrong. What made the Golden Cat a terrible place was that many of the women here, when they were brought here; they were not even full-grown women yet. They were nothing more than mere children, forced to learn the game of manipulation in the minds of men. They are given the title courtesan, yet that is just a fancy term for what these women really are, in the end: whores.

And they know that is what they are.

Despite it all, though, the Golden Cat's exterior was made for someone like me. It was primarily all ledges. However, during the day like this, I'd be seen instantly if someone actually bothered to look up. That is why I was troubled seeing so many guards patrolling the grounds below. There is no way a minor Parliamentary noble warrants protection such as this.

"Master, is it possible for more than just my target to be here?" I asked.

Master Daud shrugged. "I wouldn't doubt it. From what I've heard, the Pendletons have been here more than usual."

"What do you wish me to do?"

"I'm going to stay out here and keep watch. I want you to infiltrate the Cat and deal with your target. But you know I have no intentions on making this easy for you. Since I'm feeling generous today, I'm going to give you an hour to find and deal with Boothe. I'll also help you bypass the guards out here."

"How, Master?"

"I'm going to bend Time. You'll have approximately thirty seconds to make it from here to your infiltration point."

"I thought I was not immune to that ability?"

"If cast by another, then no. If I had casted it, the arcane bond would have protected you. Now that you have the Outsider's Mark, though, you'll be protected against it, no matter who the caster is" he said. "Tell me when you're ready."

My eyes darted over the Golden Cat, looking for a good point of infiltration. From here, it appeared that if I transversed myself across the street to the right-hand side, I could use the rooftops and ventilation ducts to get close to the Golden Cat. Then from there, I could use either one of the doors on the second floor balcony or perhaps one of the open windows.

"Ready," I said to Master Daud.

Master Daud raised his left hand in the air and slowly closed it into a fist. Time slowed to a complete halt around us. I followed the path I had lain out for myself, and infiltrated the Golden Cat through an open window. Fortunately, there were ledges on the inside of the Cat, just like the outside. Time resumed as soon as I got comfortable on the inside ledge. It was narrower than the outside ledge, but I still was able to keep my balance with practiced ease.

I found the most shadowed corner I could and began to survey my surroundings. The first floor of the main hall was rather large. Courtesans, patrons, and guards bustled about, almost oblivious to everything around them. In the center of the room, there was a large seating area. Two of the five specialized rooms were on this floor, with the staircases leading up and down to the others also on this floor. The Silver Room was on the left side of the room, while the entrance to the Steam Room was downstairs and to my right. Finally, the Ivory Room was directly in front of me. This meant that the Gold Room and the Smoking Room are upstairs, on the next floor.

The sudden scream of a young child caught my attention, and only my attention. Curiosity taking a hold of me, I slowly worked my way to where I heard the scream originate from. As it turns out, it had originated from the Madame's office.

I looked through the lock of the door to see Madame Prudence, owner of the Golden Cat, shouting at a young girl. Realization stabbed me hard in the chest. _The plan…By the Outsider, how could I have completely forgotten about the plan!?_

Those many months ago, we had been hired by then Royal Spymaster, now Lord Regent, Hiram Burrows to do two tasks: Kill Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, and kidnap her daughter, Lady Emily Kaldwin. Once the child was safely secured, we would deliver her to the Pendletons for safekeeping, until the plague outbreak at the Golden Cat had been dealt with.

Before Master Daud had to improvise and make the Royal Protector take the fall for the crime, he would have received an "anonymous tip" that the heir to the throne was being held hostage by a minor nobleman in the Golden Cat. The brothel would then be raided, the child recovered, and brought back to Dunwall Tower to be manipulated to the Spymaster's will.

The realization that had hit me was that I knew who the minor nobleman was, now…

It was my target.

_Well, Spymaster…You royally screwed us over, and endangered my brothers. Now it is time for me to royally screw you over._

I drew my blade, transversing myself into the Madame's office. I was directly behind Madame Prudence, and I wrapped my arms around her in such a way that I would be able to render her unconscious with a chokehold, or slit her throat. At first, she struggled against me. Yet, when I pressed my blade into her sagging flesh, she ceased to struggle.

"Scream, and you will die," I said in a low, intimidating whisper, made only to sound eerier with the assistance of my vapor mask. "You are going to tell me everything I want to know. Afterwards, we shall decide if it is worth your miserable existence."

Lady Emily was staring at me the whole while, watching me…intently. She knew I belonged to the group that was responsible for the death of her mother. _What if she remembers me? Will a traumatized child remember the one who kidnapped her? Will she remember the one who helped to bring about the death of her mother, and soon the Royal Protector?_

"So, what have I done to bring about the wrath of your group, hmm?" Madame Prudence said, scornfully. "I have done thing that warrants this!"

"You have done more than enough things that do. I, for one, would kill you personally, for the way you mistreat your girls. Yet, I shall not kill you. Not today, at least," I retorted. "Now, tell me where I can find a man named Donovan Boothe. No lies, Prudence. I know when you are lying."

"Interesting that you choose to name him…but I cannot say where he is. That is client privilege. Why don't you tell me what it is you want with him, hmm? Perhaps we can talk this out, like civilized people."

"I would tell you what I plan to do with him…Yet, that is employer-employee privilege." I pressed my blade deeper into her old and sagging flesh. This time, I managed to draw blood. "Shall we try a real answer this time? I hold the advantage here. Do you truly wish to die on this day?"

Madame Prudence scoffed. "He is in the Silver Room tonight. One can only guess why men love their…shocking thrills. Does this please you, assassin?"

"We will find out. And, Prudence? One last thing," I pressed my blade just a tiny bit deeper into her throat, once more, just enough so that it would leave a scar. "If harm befalls this child, then harm will befall you. I hear whispers in the darkest of shadows…I will know if something has happened to her. Consider this your _only _warning."

I proceeded to choke Madame Prudence unconscious with a Tyvian chokehold. I sat her down in her desk chair, allowing her to slump over the table.

"I know who you are," Lady Emily said suddenly. "Your name is…Iris…No. It was Arissa, wasn't it?"

I turned and looked down at Lady Emily, sheathing my blade. I was thankful for my mask. She would not be able to see how surprised I was at that moment. _So she does remember me…_

_Wonderful…_

"It might be," I said.

"You're lying. I remember your voice! You're the one who brought me to the Pendletons! And Corvo is going to die because of you!" Tears were welling in her eyes, and began to spill down her cheeks.

"Corvo's imprisonment was…not supposed to happen, child. It was unfortunate for him to return from his journey early."

Lady Emily's expression suddenly hardened, and her voice darkened. I cannot recall ever hearing a child with such darkness in her voice. "When I'm Empress, I'm going to find you. And I'm going to put you in Coldridge! You will die for what you did to my mother! And I will make sure you die slowly!"

"I wish you luck with that, then, my young Empress," I said mockingly. "You will not find me, no matter how hard you search. I am an assassin. Therefore, I am everywhere, yet nowhere. Your empty threats mean nothing to me."

Lady Emily rushed at me and tried to hit me. I pushed her away and held her in place with a tethering.

"Let go of me!" she screamed.

"Foolish child, _listen _to me," I said in a low growl. "Vengeance will not help you. I know that from experience. When the Overseer zealots capture my brothers, and I am sent to free them, I enjoy killing the zealots, watching them die slowly. Yet, in the end, it does not help me. It will temporarily sate my lust for vengeance, my lust for blood, only to anger me further later on, because I know the zealots will continue to genocide my kind. Killing me or my Master will not help you.

"We may have singlehandedly doomed the entire City of Dunwall with our actions. You _must _take the throne that is rightfully yours, Emily Kaldwin. If you can, then I believe there may still be hope for this wretched city. For now, you must run. Run, hide, and survive. Stay strong, and kill if you must. It is how you stay alive."

Lady Emily stared at me, tears in her eyes once more. "I will still imprison you for what you've done…"

"In order for you to imprison me, you must find a way to capture me, first. Now, no more, child. _Run_, and get _away _from this place."

I dropped the tethering and transversed out of the room, back to the main hall. Now I was only all the more eager for my kill, especially so because it will get under the Spymaster's skin. _It will not redeem anything I have done…but can I possibly be getting regrets now?_

I shook my head clear. Now was not the time for this.

When no one was looking, I transversed down to the entrance of the Silver Room. I opened the door and stepped inside of it. My target was sitting strapped and blindfolded into an electric chair, powered by whale oil.

Well…Talk about having my target handed to me on a silver platter.

_By the Outsider, that pun terrible, yet sadly true enough, even by my standards…_

I locked the door to the room, and slowly prowled my way over to Boothe, my footsteps barely making a sound.

"It took you long enough, honey," Boothe said, practically purring with excitement. I did not know whether I should be disgusted or laugh at how he would never see such a drastic turn of events coming.

In the end, though, I suppose it only mattered that at least _one _of us was going to get some pleasure out of this.

I reached into my bolt pouch and produced the vial of hemlock essence Master Daud had given me. I took the cap off the vial, and said to my target," You, as well, are late…For your meeting with Death himself."

I pried Boothe's jaw open, pouring the entire vial of hemlock essence into his mouth. He tried to scream. I put my hand over his mouth, forcing him to swallow the poison. It also helped to muffle his senseless screams. Though, I had a feeling I did not even need to bother with the gesture. Everything in the Golden Cat had magnificent soundproofing…

Needless to say, the hemlock essence was quick. Yet, it is also very agonizing for what becomes thirty long, tormenting seconds. Once those seconds pass, there is no returning from the path you have fallen down to. Your only path is to Death's door. And soon enough, that was the fate that befell Donovan Boothe.

With Boothe dead, I went over and unlocked the door. Then, using Master Daud as my focus, I transversed back outside, to where my Master had been keeping out of sight.

No one would ever know that Boothe was poisoned. Prudence may suspect I had something to do with his death, yet she would never be able to prove it. Hemlock essence causes the target to appear as though they had died of a heart attack or stroke. Something of that nature.

"Donovan Boothe is no more, Master," I said to him, holding up the empty vial.

"Good," he replied. "For now, let's return home. The payment for the contract isn't set to be collected until nightfall."

"Master, there is…something else I need to tell you," I added, hesitantly.

Master Daud noticed my hesitation immediately. "What is it?"

I told Master Daud about everything that had happened inside of the Golden Cat. Somehow, he did not seem surprised in the least. Yet, for the most part, at my mention of Lady Emily, he seemed…solemn.

"I do not know if she has escaped or not," I finished. "For that matter, I do not know if she even left Prudence's office."

"You seem troubled by the fact she remembered you," he said.

"I expected her not to. I just…Master…am I allowed to regret these things? Why am I?"

"You're human, Arissa. It was bound to happen eventually. You don't know much about what the Spymaster's done since we put him in office, but I can tell you that it was the greatest mistake we ever made."

I nodded. "My…troubles will not affect my work, then. It is something I will contemplate on my own," I said. "What now?"

"We return home."

"Yes, Master."

* * *

When we returned to the Flooded District, the air felt…heavier. It was as though something was out of place. Upon reaching the uppermost floor of the commerce building, Kieron stopped the two of us, just before we reached Master Daud's quarters.

"Master Daud," Kieron said, "I sent the men to check each dead drop, like you asked."

"And?"

Kieron hesitated. "Master, I don't know if you're going to like the answer…"

We stepped into Master Daud's quarters, and standing in the center of the room waiting for us, was Billie Lurk.

"Hello Daud," she said, in her usual tone of vitriol. Then her brown eyes glanced over to me. I had taken my mask off. She was looking me over. Yet, just like Master Daud, she figured out who I was. "Ah…Arissa. What a lovely surprise. I thought you were dead."

"I could easily say the same about you," I retorted coldly.

When our gazes locked upon each other, I knew it was only a matter of time until one of us drew a blade. Though, I had given Master Daud my word that I would call a truce with Lurk. I would not go back on my word. Yet, it did not mean I would not be any less suspicious of her.

And from the look on her face, I _knew _I would need to keep my eyes on her…


	10. Never Refuse a Whaler

**Chapter 10 **

**Never Refuse a Whaler**

* * *

Master Daud took a step forward, placing himself between Lurk and I. I did not need to see his eyes to know there was murder in them. Before the day was over, some form of blood would be spilled.

"I told you not to come back here unless you had information worth your life, Billie," Master Daud said to her, a dark, dangerous tone in his voice. "Do you have it?"

The corners of her lips turned up into a smirk. "I found something that might interest you," she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "But no. I don't have it with me. I thought you'd want to see it for yourself."

"Why should we believe anything you say?" Kieron said aggressively. He came into the room, standing close enough to Lurk to have enough time to draw his blade and strike her, if it came down to that. "Your actions nearly murdered Arissa and the others. You could have very well endangered our Master as well! How many more do you plan to take down with you, Lurk? All for something paltry that happens years ago, when you were a damned trainee!"

"Paltry, hmm?" Lurk said. "That little _wench _nearly killed me!"

"Enough, the two of you!" Master Daud said sharply.

He went unheard.

"Then maybe she's a better assassin than you," Kieron retorted.

"You have no right to speak this way to me. I'm your second-in-command!"

"Need I remind you, _exiled _second-in-command?"

Lurk drew her blade, and rushed at Kieron. He barely transversed out of the way in time.

"Enough of this!" I growled, and suspended Lurk in the air with my tethering. "You coward. Attack me, if you desire blood. Yet, what is this accomplishing, Lurk? We could all _die _soon, and you do not seem to even care!"

"Arissa, put her down," Master Daud ordered.

I obeyed his command, and did so.

Master Daud quickly closed the distance between himself and Lurk. He grabbed her by the throat, slamming her up against the wall. He was choking her, as her feet were not touching the floor.

"I remember the day I accepted you into my ranks. You were nothing but a young girl who thought herself to be dead inside. I gave you something to live for. And this is how you repay me? With impertinence and spite? Not only towards me, but towards everyone here. My patience with you has worn thin. No more games with me, Billie. One more step out of line, and you're dead. Do I make myself clear?"

Lurk was struggling for breath, yet she still stared defiantly into Master Daud's eyes. It made him tighten his grip, lifting her higher. Neither Kieron nor I said anything. When our Master makes promises of death, he means them. One time, a novice was captured by the Overseers. He was unable to tolerate their torture, and spilled the secrets of some of our ritual practices. He was unfortunate enough that the zealots left him alive, and let him go. He had literally crawled back to Central Rudshore.

When Master Daud learned of what he did…It was a fate worse than the zealots could have given him. Master Daud used this as a lesson, to each one of us. His words were cold and clear that day, "If you think you can divulge my secrets and come groveling to me for my forgiveness, you'd better _hope_ that you're dead, before I learn of what you've done. If you aren't, you will _all_ end up like he did."

I will not describe to you what our Master did. You should not have to suffer it. Let it be known, however, that whatever your imagination decides to show you, it will be _nothing _in comparison.

Lurk finally relented, and began to nod rapidly. Master Daud let go of her throat, and she fell to the floor with a thud, coughing all the while. He had nearly killed her. A few more seconds, and she would have perished.

"No more tricks, Billie. No more lies," he said to her. "Show me what you've found."

Lurk stood up, brushing the dirt off of her red coat. "Yes, sir," she answered, trying to choke back her usual tone of voice. She transversed away.

Master Daud turned to me. "Deal with Kieron as you see fit. You're in charge until I get return," he paused. "Your payment isn't due to be collected until nightfall. The information you'll need is in the contract ledger. When you return, write down the outcome in the bounty ledger."

"Yes, Master," I answered.

With that, he transversed away.

"I'm not sorry for my actions, Lady Arissa," Kieron said as he removed his vapor mask. "Someone needed to try and put that bitch in her place."

"Nor should you be sorry. I am in agreement with you," I replied. "I do wonder, though. How is it you know my title?"

Kieron smiled. "I came up with it. It sounded appropriate, given your hatred of nobles. Though, I do wonder…I've heard whispers that our Master's been grooming you for something. The word most often whispered is that he's grooming you to replace him. Is that true?"

"It is…" I hesitated, uncertain how to answer. "It is a lot more complicated than that, Kieron."

"Isn't it always, nowadays?" he paused. "I never got the chance to properly thank you for saving Vladka and I from the Overseers, all those months ago."

I went over to the bookshelf behind Master Daud's desk and started looking for the contract ledger. "You do not have to. The zealots deserved their fate. And I rather enjoyed slicing their necks. You standing before me now is enough of a thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"I would like to know how the zealots captured you, if you choose to be persistent about this," I looked up at him and smiled.

Kieron hesitated. "If I tell you this, Arissa, it _has _to stay between us. It's…treasonous."

"Do we not hold each other's lives in our hands, Kieron? Your secret is also my own."

He lowered his voice, in case there were sentries outside of the room that were in earshot. "I swear it on my soul and on the Outsider's name, someone was following us. When I'd turn to look, I _know _I saw flashes of a red coat, and heard the sound of a transversal…or at least something close to it."

I contemplated that. "You think that Lurk had something to do with it?" I asked, in an equally hushed tone.

"It couldn't have been Vladka, and I _know _it wasn't. And if it wasn't Lurk…" Kieron sighed. "Then I don't know. Perhaps I am being overly paranoid."

"I do not think you are. I have always been wary with Lurk. By the Void, I have practically slept with one eye open all these years, even though I stay in the same room with Aeolos. I have never been able to trust her, and even now I am still expecting her to put a blade through my throat. You saw the look she gave Master Daud. Even in the face of death, she was still defiant!"

I finally found the contract ledger, and I placed it down on the desk. I carefully opened it and started looking for the right page. I had no idea who my employer was. Yet, given how unique this contract was, I would know the page right away when I found it.

"What should we do, then?" Kieron asked. "Should we keep an eye on her?"

I ran my gloved hand through my hair. "I think it would be wise for us to. Yet…I do worry what Master Daud will do if he finds out. Their relations are…strained, though I believe he still treats her as one of his own, like we all are. I do not know how he would take this, should he learn we were spying on our sister, our second-in-command."

"Arissa, Master Daud kept you alive for three months with his own power. Our Master would never admit to it, but I can see how exhausted he is from the effort. Not only from that, but from trying to sustain our brotherhood, on top of it. He made it abundantly clear to us that if you die, all of us die with you. You may not see it, but you're more important to him than I think even you realize. He keeps you alive for a reason. A reason that you know, and we can only begin to guess at."

"I know, Kieron," I said quietly. "And this is one of the reasons he has."

I unattached my wristbow from its track, placed it down on the desk, and pulled off my glove. I held up my branded left hand for Kieron to see.

His eyes widened in astonishment. "Is that…?"

"The Mark of the Outsider?" I finished for him. "Yes. It is."

Kieron came over and took my hand in his. He ran his thumb over the Mark, to see if it was mere paint or ink. When it did not rub off on his glove, realization hit him. "You're one of the Outsider's chosen…"

"Now you see why I said it was complicated?"

He let go of my hand. "Have you spoken to the Outsider?"

"He has spoken to me quite a few times, actually."

"And?"

I put my glove back on my hand and began to reattach my wristbow. "I finally understand why our Master always calls him the 'black-eyed bastard.'"

I heard frantic footsteps coming from outside of the room. A novice assassin ran into the room a few seconds later, out of breath. Once he got his breath back, he said, "Master Daud! There is a suspicious man asking for you, outside of the Rail Station."

My eyes immediately snapped up to the novice's masked ones. He did not sound familiar to me. He had to be one of the new recruits Master Daud mentioned, if he had confused me as him. _Do we really look that similar? _

"I am not Master Daud, novice," I said, sharply. "Declare yourself."

The novice suddenly seemed terrified of me. "M-my name is…is Finn, sir! Or, uh…"

Kieron had turned around and was facing the novice. He was laughing. "Calm down, Finn. _Lady _Arissa won't kill you. That is, as long as you stay loyal to us. If you don't, I suspect she is under orders to deal with the matter in the same manner our Master would."

"R-right…Sorry." He bowed. At least he did _that _properly. "I was sent here by Thomas to inform Master Daud that there is a man asking for him. He claims to be a new recruit, sent here from Serkonos by someone named Mistress Lorena Arataro."

I contemplated that. I did not trust this. Though I am aware that my sister's name is Lorena, and it is a rare name in Serkonos, Master Daud had not mentioned to me that we would be getting new recruits from Serkonos. Arataro sounded like two names mashed together. But in our line of business, you always went with your first instinct. Mine was to investigate this, to try and determine whether this was truth, or deception.

"I will handle this," I said to the novice. "Return to your post."

"Yes, Lady Arissa!" Finn said and ran off.

"Kieron. Put the sentries surrounding the commerce building on high alert while I look into this man at the Rail Station. I doubt he would make it past us, though I prefer to play this safely."

"As you wish," he said. He put on his vapor mask, then transversed away.

I put on my vapor mask and transversed myself to the Rail Station. All nine of the sentries that guarded the courtyard and rooftops surrounding Agroosh Way were in combat stance, ready to move at the slightest command, whether it came from Thomas, or from me. I transversed myself up to where Thomas was standing.

From this vantage point, I saw the man, standing below in the puddle-ridden streets. He wore the uniform of an order I had never seen before. The uniform, however, did appear to be of Serkonan craftsmanship.

"I do hope you realize you are in our territory," I called down to him. "We are known for giving intruders very warm welcomes."

"It may appear that way, but I know who you are, Whalers," the man called back. "Where is your Master? The one called Daud?"

I carefully thought of my answer. "Our Master is away on business. In his absence, I am the one in charge. State your business here, intruder, or I will have my sentries open fire on you."

"My name is Rinaldo. I have been sent here under the command of Mistress Lorena Amontaro…Excuse me. I have been sent here under the command of Mistress Lorena _Arataro_, of the Brotherhood of the Silent Blades. Your Master and our Mistress have an agreement, bound in both writing and blood. To show her good faith towards this alliance, I have been sent here to loyally serve under your banner. Should I displease you in any way, you may dispose of me however you deem fit."

"This Mistress of yours…" I said. "Describe her to me."

"Mistress Arataro is approximately five-foot-seven. She has this beautifully deadly face, deep black hair, and eyes of emerald. She is also covered in vines," Rinaldo trailed off. "If that does not strike recognition, I have been instruction to mention something else."

"Out with it, then."

"She has a sister that is among your ranks. Are you familiar with this?"

"That depends…What is the name of this supposed sister?"

He took a deep breath before he answered. "Arissa Daurana."

"I doubt the truth of his words, Lady Arissa," Thomas said. Rinaldo could not hear us conversing among ourselves, given the distance. "As you outrank me, I am awaiting your order to strike. We all are. Though I, and all of us here, would question you if you welcome him here with open arms."

"And I have no intentions to. However, I have had no instruction from our Master. I do not know if we were to be receiving a new recruit. Rinaldo could speak true."

"This is your call, my Lady."

"Apprehend him and take him to the storage vats. Bind his hands and feet. Make sure he is locked up tightly. I will inform our Master of him, when he returns," I paused. "I want him under guard, as well. Place Aeolos and Ardan on guard in the building."

"As you wish, my Lady," Thomas replied. "Are there any other orders?"

"Yes. After you have apprehended our intruder, have Galia and Killian perform a full sweep of Ebenezer Causeway and the Greaves Refinery. Then, I want Devon and Zachary to perform a full sweep of Agroosh Way and Thresh Street. After each team performs a sweep, have them return to their original posts and resume Master Daud's orders, if all proves quiet. If not, then have them report to me up in our Master's quarters."

"At once, my Lady," he bowed and transversed away.

I watched as Thomas appeared behind Rinaldo, and put him in a Tyvian chokehold. Within seconds, Rinaldo was unconscious, and taken to the storage vat building down the street. Knowing Thomas would have everything under control, I transversed myself to Kieron to update him on the situation.

"All quiet?" he asked.

"Not quite," I replied. "Place a sentry down at the Rudshore Gate. We all know Master Daud keeps it under lock and key, yet I am not entirely certain to the motives of our…friend. He could have been a scout sent to divert our attention, to make way for an ambush from another front."

"I'll send Finn down to the gate. If he screams, then we'll know that someone broke through it."

"Kieron, no needlessly sacrificing our novices."

"What? I wouldn't be needlessly sacrificing him. Besides, I think it'll be good experience for him." Kieron paused, lowering his voice. "Also, Arissa. About our, uh…conversation…"

"What of it?" I replied quietly.

"What do you want to do about what we were discussing?"

"Do what you said you wanted to do. Report to me, and only me, with anything peculiar you find. I will accompany you, if you find something you think you may need assistance on."

He nodded, then transversed off to find Finn.

I transversed myself back up to Master Daud's quarters, and walked behind his desk. I picked up where I left off, previously flipping through the numerous pages of the contract ledger. Truth be told, I did not understand why we had both a bounty ledger and a contract ledger. They were both essentially the same thing, yet the contract ledger had sections for both active contracts (which were very few), and completed contracts (which were many). The oldest contract dated back to when I was still a novice.

Absently, I wondered if this was what my life would be like, when I inevitably take Master Daud's place. Standing behind here, writing down our contracts…Ordering the sentries around…Many, many more things.

In the end, I sighed. They were interesting thoughts to entertain. Yet, I did not like to entertain thoughts of my Master's death. I am not afraid of his responsibilities becoming my own, but…entertaining thoughts of losing him, and my brothers, was too much for me.

Deep in the back of my mind, a voice, perhaps the Outsider's, laughed. "_The death of Carlo and Fergus were only the beginning. It will all fall to the Void, and there _will _be losses…_"

My heart suddenly sank as I came across the page that may have not only doomed us Whalers, but Dunwall, as well:

_Contract Echo Jasmine Karnaca_

_Employer: The Royal Spymaster Hiram Burrows_

_Target (Primary. To be assassinated): Her Royal Majesty, Empress Jessamine Kaldwin I. _

_Target (Secondary. To be taken non-lethally (kidnapped), delivered to Lords Morgan and Custis Pendleton in the Estate District): Her Ladyship, Emily Kaldwin I._

_Vulnerability: The Empress's Royal Protector, Corvo Attano, is to be sent away on a trip across the Isles in the Month of Wind. Dunwall Tower's water lock control room is unsecure. Entrance point is to be there. From there, rooftops will be the best approach._

_Payment of 20,000 coins is to be left at a dead drop near Dunwall Tower upon the Empress's death. Payment of 10,000 coins is to be paid by the Pendletons for delivering the Lady Emily alive._

Why must we find constant reminders of what we have done!? By the Void, why does Master Daud even still have this? I understand that what we did may have very well doomed the entire city of Dunwall, and yet…

I took a deep breath, and muttered one of my earliest lessons to myself in Serkonan. Master Daud had taught me that, "Whether or not you kill good men or bad, you are an assassin above all. You don't have the luxury of emotions, or the ability to choose your contracts. You take what's handed to you, and deal with the consequences, when and if there are any."

When I blinked, the contract I had been staring at changed. All along, it had been the page I was looking for. That…that cannot be possible! I _know _I was staring at a different contract!

"Are you enjoying yourself right now, you black-eyed bastard?" I snarled in a low voice. "Play a trick on the newly Marked Whaler; I see how it is…"

I heard laughter again. And, as if to spite me, my bone charm suddenly sent a deep, unbearable chill throughout my body.

"Fine, I get the point! Ugh, look at me…" I sighed. "I am bloody talking to _myself_."

I refocused my thoughts on things that were of importance, my core beliefs as an assassin, a Whaler. If I did not remember what I was at my core, then I have already failed. And it was nearing nightfall. I had a payment to collect.

I carefully etched every detail about my employer and the location of our meeting into my memory. When I had it memorized, I placed the heavy contract ledger back on the bookshelf, and went to prepare my equipment for the meeting.

If my vapor mask is not intimidating enough to convince my employer to hand the coin over, then my sharp, gleaming blade should be.

* * *

I had transversed myself to the outskirts of the Legal District. I hated this district. There was nothing I despised more than barristers who thought themselves to be gods, and high-borns that crawled out of the woodwork like rats when a powerful barrister died.

It was a very true thing. That no matter how many high-born throats we slit, someone else will crawl to the top of the pile…That people like these only praise the law when it suits them. They may hoist themselves above the rabble, but their supports will eventually rot beneath them. If they did not, well…That is what people like me are for.

In a way, I was smiling inwardly towards myself. What Master Daud told me of my former life still made little sense to me, but if I am really a bastard child, then…technically, I was a high-born. Enslaved, yes, but high-born. I never had a life of wealth, protection, and nobility. Yet, now I live a life of murder and shadows, of blood and coin, where each day, a new target is chosen to be eliminated, and each day is a fight for survival in the Flooded District.

Although, truth be told…If someone tells you rat tastes like chicken, do not believe them. There is no word that can describe how rat tastes. And I cannot tell you how many times we have made fun of each other for being squeamish about eating it.

The legendary Whalers, afraid of eating rat…

Ha…Imagine if the Overseer zealots knew _that_. Would that not break some of their vivid fantasies about us?

Night had finally fallen over Dunwall, the stars of the sky barely visible underneath the layers of fog. My employer was still nowhere to be seen. And truthfully, I would not be surprised if he tried standing us up. However, the last time a high-born tried that, they quickly learned otherwise why you should _never_ refuse a Whaler his coin.

After an hour, I finally heard footsteps walking towards me. A man in a pristine white suit approached me, like he owned the street. Of course, he did not. Though he did own a rather…expensive mansion in the Estate District.

"About damned time you finally showed up here!" said my employer, Nicholas. "I've been coming here for over a month, now!"

"When you signed the contract, you knew we worked on our own time table."

"You're one of the goons, aren't you? Well…tell Daud we are never doing business again. I told him it was paramount_, paramount! _the contract be completed sooner, rather than later! I should turn you over to the Abbey! Let them deal with your disgusting kind."

"You would not dare do that," I said in a low, harsh whisper, ignoring his petty insults. "And you would be wise to pay me, so that I may be on my way."

He laughed. "You would like that, wouldn't you? Well…find someone else to pay you. I don't pay for late, half-assed jobs."

He turned and began to walk away.

_Bloody nobles…_

He deserved what I was about to do to him.

I transversed myself behind him, my blade drawn, and I put my hand over his mouth to muffle his screams. He started to struggle against me, but his struggles were in vain. I had him.

And I would do more than just teach him a lesson.

"You should have just paid me," I said darkly, and slit his throat.

I let go of him, and he slumped to the ground, a hand desperately clutching at his throat. His warm blood ran through his hand, through his fingers, and stained his pristine white shirt. With one final moan, one final gurgle, he was dead. I wiped the blood on my blade away on his coat, and kicked his body into the river, where hagfish seemingly came out of nowhere to feast upon his corpse.

I sheathed my blade, and stared up at the night sky for a few moments. How in the Outsider's name would I explain this to Master Daud? I knew he would already be agitated because of dealing with Lurk. Now I had to tell him that we not only housed a prisoner in our storage vat building, but we also just got screwed over. The whole _point _of being an assassin is that we get hired, kill the mark, and get paid. And we did not get paid.

I sighed, and transversed myself back to the Flooded District.

One way or another, I would have to face my judgment.

And I would not run from it.

* * *

I had transversed myself to Master Daud's quarters. I looked for the bounty ledger on the bookshelf, and when I found it, I took it and placed it down on the desk.

I signed my fate into its pages:

_Boothe – Eliminated, payment refused. Employer eliminated._

How Master Daud would take the news I give him was beyond me. For now, my only hope was that he returned to us safely…And preferably, without Lurk.

I knew he would return to us eventually. Though I also had a feeling Lurk would be, as well.

Nothing with us will ever be simple, will it?


	11. The Ship Named Delilah

**Author's Note: **This chapter **contains many spoilers **for "The Knife of Dunwall" mission **"****A Captain of Industry."** If you **have not** completed this mission, then I strongly advise against reading this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 11 **

**The Ship Named Delilah**

* * *

It'd been three weeks. Things were going surprisingly well. That is, surprisingly well, minus recent news. Rumor has it that the former Royal Protector broke out of Coldridge Prison. But I know it's not a rumor. And I know that it's only a matter of time before Corvo comes to me here, in the Flooded District.

I can't say I wasn't worried. Part of me was.

But I had more important things to worry about.

Lurk's information proved invaluable. It turns out, there was a ship named _The Delilah _that hunted whales for a man named Bundry Rothwild, a former deckhand who'd made good. Good enough, that he now ran his own slaughterhouse. Though, if you considered how he treated his workers, it was basically a prison.

Lurk had already left for Slaughterhouse Row. I'd rendezvous with her shortly. I had one more piece of business I needed to take care of before I left.

For three weeks, I had let Arissa run the brotherhood in my stead. I hadn't spoken a word to her about her contract. I'd already known its outcome. I knew Nicholas was going to screw us over. He was your typical high-born noble, who thought he owned the world.

Funny…It never quite works out for them the way they so desperately want it to, does it?

Needless to say, I didn't care about getting screwed out of the money. We were in no short supply of it. My thoughts were focused solely on Delilah. In the rare time I wasn't focused on it/her, I was concerned about my Whalers. They had all been acting very strangely, Arissa and Kieron especially so. Kieron, I expected it from. He was always the mischievous one. I didn't care, as long as orders were carried out. And they always were.

But Arissa…This was peculiar behavior for her. She kept no secrets from me, and I knew her loyalty was without question. That's why her secrecy bothered me. On multiple occasions, I pressed her on it. Each time, I'd receive the same answer: "I wish I could tell you, Master. Yet I am still not certain as to what is going on."

Whatever it was that was being kept hidden from me, I couldn't pry it from Arissa, Kieron, or any of the others. It ultimately had become the least of my worries.

Arissa had done exceedingly well running the brotherhood. I'd only done one thing, and that was release Rinaldo from the storage vat facility. Mistress Arataro, as she was calling herself now, had indeed sent him here. It was up to the others as to whether or not they could accept him as one of their own. I already knew they'd have a field day with him, since he wasn't trained in our methods. He'd have to be re-taught.

"You summoned me, Master?" Arissa asked.

I looked up at her from the contract ledger. I hadn't realized she'd come into the room. She was standing at full attention, her hands placed behind her back. She displayed her confidence, but I could sense her nervousness. If it was anyone else, they would not sense her true feelings. She kept them hidden well. Her leadership nature had finally taken over.

"Yes, I did," I said. "I believe that it's time I gave you what you worked very hard to earn."

I stepped out from behind my desk and approached her, offering to her the red coat of the command chain that was folded over my arm.

Her indigo eyes widened in bewilderment. "I…do not understand…I…I thought I failed my contract again."

"Your employer was an aristocrat. I'm only surprised you didn't cut his throat sooner."

She thought about it for a long moment, before she finally dropped down to one knee and kneeled before me. "I swear it upon the Outsider's name that I will not disappoint you. My existing vows still apply. I will forever serve you with utmost loyalty, until the day I meet my demise, and until such a day, the Knife of Dunwall shall never die, until I breathe my final breath."

She took the coat from my arm, and bowed her head respectfully. She then transversed out of the room. A minute later, she transversed back in, in both her vapor mask and the red coat.

"I am your blade, Master," she bowed. "Direct me."

"Lurk and I are going to Slaughterhouse Row, where we will be investigating a ship named _The Delilah_. I want you to stay here and keep things operational while I'm away. You'll be in full command. Whatever happens, I trust your judgment. You may handle any strange situations however you see fit."

She tilted her head questioningly. "Master, I understand the need to have a leader here, yet would I not be of more use to you out in the field?"

"I won't deny it. You'd be a lot more useful to me out in the field than you currently are here. Kieron, Aeolos, Thomas, or any of the others would have things well under control. However, I don't trust Lurk enough to stay her blade from you. This investigation is too important to be screwed up by her petty rivalry with you."

Arissa nodded in understanding. "I will make sure nothing goes awry while you are away. I wish you luck, Master. The sooner we are able to put Delilah behind us, the better." She transversed away.

I went and retrieved my mask from atop the bookshelf. Then I put it on, and transversed to Slaughterhouse Row.

* * *

Lurk's vantage point gave us a look at the left side of the Rothwild Slaughterhouse. You could see where the water was red from the bleeding whales being brought into the slaughterhouse, offal runoff from the sewers, various pieces of carcasses…And did I mention the stench? By the Outsider, I never thought I'd see the day something rendered an industrial-strength air filter useless. Even Lurk seemed to be struggling with trying to adjust to the smell.

_Why am I still trying to hide my face? I can't undo what I've done. I've made my choices. There's no point in hiding from the inevitable. I'm the Knife of Dunwall, and my Whalers are willing to die for me, whether or not I command them to. Whatever Fate may decide to throw at me…I'm ready for it._

I took off my mask and threaded its straps through my belt as I approached Lurk.

She finally stood up, and turned to face me. "Daud, about time you got here. I got bored, so I started without you."

"I figured you would," I said. "What's the situation?"

"There's a strike at the slaughterhouse. It's not surprising, either. Rothwild runs this place like a prison. The stupid workers can't even get in without a timecard. When the strike started, the butchers confiscated all the cards they could lay their hands on. They've even given the City Watch free rein to use lethal force."

"Then it's a good thing that the front door isn't the only way into a slaughterhouse."

Lurk shrugged. "Whatever you say, sir. That is, as long as you don't mind me tagging along to keep my old man safe."

"I'm not _that _old," I muttered to myself under my breath then said to her, "We have a lot of ground to cover, Billie. I expect you to be doing your job."

That seemed to cut her deeply. "Yes, sir," she paused. "I advise that we travel by rooftop. There's an arc pylon on the street down there. Up here, we're safe from it, but get too close, and…"

"We'll be reduced to a pile of ash before we even know what hit us," I finished. "If that's how the City Watch wants to play it, then let's show them that their security devices can't keep us out."

"Just the way I like it," Lurk replied. "Shall we?"

"Scout ahead," I commanded. "I'll be right behind you."

Lurk transversed off. I'd give her a minute, before I transverse to her. Out of curiosity, I looked down the street to see where the arc pylon was. It was on the left side of the street, and I could hear that it was fully active. I wasn't about to play the grand game of "Dodge the Arc Pylon." I've already accepted the fact that one day, and maybe one day very soon, I'm going to die. But dying to an _arc pylon?_ Sure, I might be able to dodge it, though I wasn't about to take the chance of getting fried. Call me fastidious, but I wasn't about to let my legend end with the fact I died to an _arc pylon._

I transversed myself to Lurk. She'd already made good progress. She was on a rooftop that was inside of the slaughterhouse's yard, past the Wall of Light that guarded the front entrance. This rooftop was a very good vantage point, as we could see every guard and butcher that patrolled the grounds. Though, if we could see them, then there was also an equally good chance that they could see us.

Then again…does the City Watch _ever _look up to see who might be shadowing them from above?

"There's another arc pylon," Lurk said. "Over there, left side of the yard. There's also a lever over there."

"I'm willing to bet that it unlocks an alternate entrance we could use."

"Possibly. Also, sir, I overheard a butcher talking to a City Watchman. The butchers claim to have captured the leader of the strike. A woman named Abigail Ames. Maybe she could be useful to you."

"If interrogating Rothwild proves worthless, like I'm expecting it to, then it'll be worth tracking her down."

"Why do you think it'll be worthless?"

"Men like him are an interesting breed, Lurk. Gaffers claim to know methods that they can perform on a person that won't hurt. That is, it won't hurt _at first_. Then they repeat it hourly, perhaps daily. After a while, what didn't hurt at first becomes pure agony."

"Mmm…I always did like a challenge. Do you think I could rough Rothwild up a bit before we kill him? He has a stubborn reputation, and from what I've heard, he's not the type to forgive."

"I'll consider it," I replied neutrally. "I want to see what path he'll take, first."

Lurk nodded. "I'll go see if I can find us an alternate entrance. The sooner we're done here, the better," she said, and transversed off.

In a way, I was smiling inwardly. I've heard whispers that many gaffers think they can take on one of my Whalers, and make them feel pain again. An idle threat, if nothing more. I teach my Whalers that their kills are to be quick, clean, and precise. No prolonging death, unless it is absolutely necessary. The interrogation methods I've taught them are more effective than what a gaffer learns to do. My method of choice is a specific way to hold arm and finger bones. The bone is held in such a way that it is on the fringe of being broken, but it doesn't break. Not unless more pressure, more force, is applied. It is _very _agonizing to whoever is unfortunate enough to be interrogated by one of my men, or two women.

While we were here, I wanted to see at least _one _former gaffer foolish enough to take Lurk or myself on. If they think they can take on one of my Whalers, what are they doing to do when faced with the legend, or the lieutenant?

A few minutes had gone by before Lurk finally transversed back onto the roof. "Sir, I found a possible entrance. There's a…small problem with it, though."

"I'm not surprised," I said. "What is it?"

"The entrance I found is one of the runoff tunnels. A sewer entrance. It has a locked gate protecting it, and when I tried to pry the gate open, I couldn't. It has to be activated by a switch. And I'm thinking that the switch is that lever over by the arc pylon…It makes sense, because the entrance is literally right underneath the pylon."

"I never expected this to be easy, Lurk. You shouldn't have, either."

"I'm well aware of that, sir. Although, I did overhear something while I was down there. The tank of whale oil needs to be changed, soon. The problem is that soon could mean an hour from now, hours from now, or days from now."

"Then we wait it out."

"Are you sure about this?"

"If the tank of whale oil is unplugged, then the pylon won't be active. And if the pylon isn't active, one of us can go pull the lever, open up the entrance, and we can get into the slaughterhouse."

Lurk sighed. "I guess we better get comfortable up here, then."

* * *

"I'm bored…" Lurk groaned.

We had been sitting on the rooftop for about…four hours. So far, no one had come to replace the whale oil battery, and it didn't look like they would be any time soon. I also found it amusing how neither butcher nor City Watchman bothered to look up on the rooftops, where two assassins could be seen _in broad daylight_. Or maybe they noticed us, and didn't care. That seemed likely. The City Watchmen typically don't care about much, other than asking one another when they're going to gather for whiskey and cigars.

"If you get bored this easily, then why did you want to become an assassin?"

"Because it beats living in the slums. And besides…you could have killed me back then, and you didn't," she paused. "Why didn't you?"

The question surprised me. Why didn't I kill Lurk when she had followed me to the Flooded District? Was it because she was still a kid?

I shook my head clear. Where had the question come from to begin with? It doesn't accomplish anything.

I decided it was best to ignore the question. I scanned the grounds one more time. Finally, there was a butcher carrying a tank of whale oil down to the arc pylon. Our opportunity was almost at hand.

"Lurk, go down to the sewer entrance and make sure it opens when I pull the lever."

Lurk stood up, nodded, and transversed off.

I waited to hear the alarm sound on the arc pylon that indicated the whale oil battery had been unplugged. As soon as I heard it, I transversed down to the arc pylon, and pulled the lever. I heard something open, and I transversed down to Lurk. Not even a full five seconds later, the arc pylon came back online. Had I not moved when I did, it would have fried me.

I don't know what would have been worse if that had happened. The fact that the legendary Knife of Dunwall died to an arc pylon, or how the Outsider would never let me live down the fact I died to an arc pylon.

_Not today, you black-eyed bastard. Not today._

Lurk and I climbed over the wall that once had a gate above it. We landed with a loud squish underneath our boots. We were ankle-deep in the Outsider only knows what. We started making our way down the tunnel. The stench down here was far worse than outside. I'd ask if it was even possible for something to smell worse than the rotting corpses of Weepers, but apparently it can. At least we were fortunate enough not to come across giant rat swarms…Yet.

"Ugh…At the rate we're going, burning my clothes won't even get the stench out of them," Lurk groaned.

"It could be worse," I said.

"How could anything be worse than _this?_"

"We could be held captive by the Overseers, we could be dying of the Plague, we could be being eaten alive by giant rats…"

"Okay, fine, point taken," Lurk sighed. "This Delilah thing better be worth it…"

"We wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was."

"I imagine that Rothwild is either in his office, or at least close to it. We should probably start there, once we get out of here."

We began to hear the roar of a whale in agony as we neared the end of the tunnel. The offal runoff grew a lot thicker here, and large amounts of blood poured down the tunnel. We could finally see into the slaughterhouse, and I saw that it was raining blood. Looking up, I realized that the tunnel we used had led us directly underneath the agonized whale. It was hooked up to some kind of machinery, undoubtedly meant to extract its oil. It was being bled out.

This was the fourth time in my life I'd ever seen a whale. This was the first time I could recall seeing one fully up-close and personal.

"Sir, for the record, I'm blaming you if I get covered in blood and guts," Lurk said quietly, now that we were inside the slaughterhouse. "But…maybe we should find a way to put the whale out of its misery. Nothing, not even a beast, deserves to go through this…"

"If you decide to do that, you're on your own. Our main focus needs to be finding out about _The Delilah_."

Lurk pointed up and to the left. "I'm guessing that's Rothwild's office up there. With any luck, he'll have something on the shipin there."

"See if you can find anything that might be useful to us," I commanded. "I'll search Rothwild's office."

"Yes, sir," she said, and transversed off.

I transversed up to the balcony of Rothwild's office. I looked through the window to see if he was in there. He wasn't. Strange. I tested the lock on the office's door. It wasn't locked, so I went into the room. Rothwild's office was well-organized, except for a few papers scattered on his desk. I started glancing over them. The most useful piece of information I found was the mentioning of a fully-powered interrogation chair, located in the meat locker. It also mentioned not to give your subjects more than four treatments. That meant that three treatments would more than suffice.

A woman cried out. At first, I thought it was Lurk. Then I realized the pitch was wrong. I opened the main door to Rothwild's office and slowly crept down the walkway that connected the office and records room together. Once in the records room, I hid behind a bookcase, peering out to see who was in here. A man and a woman. I took one to be Rothwild, and the other to be Abigail Ames.

"How much does Ramsey know by now? How long have you been working for him?" Rothwild said.

"What? No. This is about the workers! This is about fair pay and safe conditions."

"Don't bother, Abigail. You're not the first of his moles I've caught red-handed. What happened to you? I trusted you. Gave you extra rations of elixir, bags of coin as bonuses. You're about to see that my generosity is well counterbalanced by a very inhumane side."

"Bundry…"

"Don't call me that. You've lost that privilege."

Abigail scoffed. "You don't know anything about Ramsey. He'll come for me. And when he does, he'll kill you, and gut you like the street filth you are."

"Ahh…Now the truth comes out. I've broken your strike, Miss Ames. No one is coming for you. And my butchers are the finest fighters in all of Dunwall. No one, especially Ramsey, will get past them."

I stifled a laugh. If his butchers were the finest fighters in all of Dunwall, then they would have realized two Whalers had been camping out practically on their doorstep for the past _four hours_ while in _broad daylight._ He might want to have his butchers' intelligence checked…And his own.

"Miss Ames, I'm going to demonstrate to you a few things I learned when I was a gaffer. I can do things to you that won't even hurt, at first. I plan to let this conversation last a long, long time."

I needed Rothwild alive. Perhaps Abigail Ames, as well. I quickly pulled out a sleep dart from my bolt pouch and loaded it into my wristbow. I stepped out from behind the bookcase and said, "You're right, Rothwild. This conversation is going to last a long, long time."

I flicked my wrist, and the sleep dart shot out of the wristbow. It hit Rothwild square in the chest. Abigail let out a surprised shriek as he stumbled around like a drunken fool for a few moments, before finally succumbing to the sleep toxin and hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Abigail took a deep breath. She wasn't impressive looking, but she was covered in blood. Whose blood was anyone's guess. There didn't seem to be a scratch on her. Surprisingly, she recovered herself well, and looked a lot calmer. "I know who you are," she said.

"You, and all of Dunwall," I replied.

"What do you want with me, Daud?"

"I'm not here for you. I'm here to learn about a ship called _The Delilah_."

"The Lord Regent sent you, didn't he?"

I didn't answer.

"I know all there is to know about _The Delilah_. I can give you exactly what you want. However, I need something from you in exchange."

"That's what I thought," I said. "What?"

"We're both professionals, Mister Daud. I was hired to get these gutless workers striking, which I did rather nicely. Then, I was to destroy the slaughterhouse itself. That's where I got caught, and where I need someone like you to help me out."

"And how am I supposed to destroy an entire slaughterhouse?"

"The whale oil in those tanks out there is more than enough to destroy this entire place, especially the important industrial bits. You just need to open all the valves at once to get the oil flowing, the pressure will spiral out of control, and…boom."

"And what of the people inside?"

That question seemed to amuse her. "I wasn't aware the Knife of Dunwall was growing a conscience. Well…the factory workers are already out. My boss will hire them on. They'll have better conditions than they'll ever see here. As far as I care, though, the butchers can die _screaming_."

"Why should I bargain with you, when I could just put you into Rothwild's interrogation chair?" I said.

"That would be a very long and messy solution. I'm gambling on the fact that you're not the kind of man who likes that. If you make a deal with me, then I can tell you all you want to know. I can even pay you for your trouble."

I contemplated Abigail's proposal. I wasn't fond of the idea of blowing up the entire Rothwild Slaughterhouse. It would not only draw a lot of attention from the Lord Regent and the City Watch, but it was also a very messy solution compared to performing two interrogations. Sure, the people would be better off working at another place of business, but there was nothing stopping them from leaving this place to begin with.

I took another sleep dart from my bolt pouch, loaded it into my wristbow, and said, "I'm going to kindly reject your proposal," and proceeded to launch the dart.

Abigail shuddered momentarily, inevitably falling to the ground with a thud. Like Rothwild, the sleep toxin had knocked her out cold. A few moments later, Lurk transversed into the room.

"Sir, I spotted a makeshift interrogation chair…" She realized that there were two people lying unconscious on the ground. "You already knew about it, didn't you?"

"Were you able to find the meat locker?" I asked.

"Yes, sir," Lurk replied. "I can take you to it, and even lock the doors behind us. You always did enjoy an interrogation, so I'll make sure you get to enjoy these. And it is rather fun watching you work…There's always so much more to learn about how pain works."

Lurk picked up Abigail and tossed her over her shoulder, while I hefted Rothwild over mine. Lurk transversed off, and after a few moments, I transversed to her. She threw Abigail down in the corner behind the interrogation chair, while I strapped Rothwild into the chair. Lurk went and locked the room's two doors and closed its windows, locking them, as well. The room wasn't terribly large, since the interrogation chair was in the far corner behind slabs of still-bleeding meat, but for what we needed to do, it wouldn't matter. I'm sure Rothwild will enjoy waking up in his own meat locker, in his own interrogation chair.

Perhaps Lurk was right. We would need to kill him…or maybe find another way of disposing of him.

"Everything's ready, sir. No one is getting in or out of here. Just tell me when you're ready."

"Wake him up," I ordered.

"I'm going to enjoy this," she said, hitting Rothwild hard. He stirred, but did not wake. She hit him again, putting a lot more force behind the blow. Again, nothing. Finally, she shrugged. She took a couple steps back, and axe-kicked Rothwild's privates.

He awoke screaming.

His eyes snapped up to look at us. Rage mixed with defiance, and I wasn't surprised at it. He could try to be defiant, but it wouldn't get him anywhere. "What do you want to know that's worth crossing _me?_" he growled.

"I want to know about a ship called _The Delilah_. What's behind the name?"

"Go screw yourself. I ain't telling you _nothin'!_"

I shrugged, and put my hand on the lever on the control panel. I pulled the lever, and Rothwild was electrocuted. He cried out in surprise. His scream sounded very…feminine.

"Who is Delilah?" I asked darkly.

Rothwild laughed. "You honestly think I'd give up a friend at the first tickle? I pay your sister for that, down at the Golden Cat!"

A former gaffer, and President and Owner of the Rothwild Slaughterhouse…and he insults me like a schoolboy? Has Dunwall really fallen to _that _level, or just him?

"We'll feed you through your own factory," I retorted. "Maybe we'll be able to get oil out of all that blubber." I proceeded to pull the lever and electrocute him again. Once more, he cried out, but he shook his head clear.

He was still resisting.

"I'll give you this much…You know your work. Why don't we talk this out, like businessmen?"

"Why did you name it _The Delilah_?"

"What do you care? The name wasn't even my choice. That was what the previous owner had named it. It was after some sweetheart painter of his. Now piss off, assassin."

I pulled the lever once more. This was the third time. One more time, and he would die.

"What is the name of the previous owner?"

Rothwild started laughing. "I'm not telling you anything else. Piss off."

"Sir," Lurk said. "May I take him somewhere private and rough him up? Maybe then he'll be more responsive."

"He's all yours," I said to her. "Make sure you put a blade through his neck when you're done."

Lurk knocked Rothwild unconscious, and helped me get him out of the chair. I was worried about her being able to carry him, but she let him slump to the ground, then placed her hand on him and transversed away with him.

I went and retrieved Abigail Ames from the corner of the room, and strapped her into the chair. With any luck, she would prove a lot more useful than Rothwild.

Somehow, the sleep toxin had already began to wear off, and Abigail was slowly waking up. After a couple minutes, she finally started speaking. "Where…where am I?" Hers eyes finally shifted their gaze to stare at me. "Oh…"

I smiled at her. "I think you know where you are."

"I know how to resist this thing, you know. I've seen it used before."

"Really? Well, then…Let's test that theory, shall we?"

I pulled the lever, watching as the chair electrocuted her. She squirmed and screamed for a long while, before finally calming down.

"That…That was a lot worse than I expected it to be."

"Tell me everything you know about Delilah," I said.

"Why? If I tell you, then you'll kill me."

"If you're helpful, I might consider getting you out of here. I won't help you destroy the slaughterhouse, but I'll give you your life."

"Forgive me for being skeptical about that."

I pulled the lever, and electrocuted her again.

"That's alright," I said. "Tell me Delilah's significance, and I'll stop."

Abigail scoffed. "You didn't think I could stand up to you, did you?"

"Someone like you? No, I expected you to try and stand up to me. I don't think you realize that I've broken people stronger-willed than you. I've been practicing my art longer than you've been in this world. This chair is just a convenience for me. I know methods that would crumble you instantly, but they're…messy. And like you said, I'm not a man who likes those solutions. Tell me what I want to know, Miss Ames. I ran out of patience a long, long time ago."

That made her pause.

I was about to pull the lever again, when she suddenly cried out, "Wait! Wait. I'll tell you everything I know."

"I'm listening."

"I was told that there was supposed to be a plan. Rothwild was diverting ten percent of all the oil he harvested, and thus cheating the Lord Regent of the product. Rothwild wasn't doing this alone. He had a partner who sold him the ship, the one you're asking after."

"And who is this partner?" I asked. "Why did he name the ship _The Delilah?_"

"His partner is Barrister Arnold Timsh," Abigail replied. "Why do you want to know about any of this? Is this even about the oil?"

"My reasons are my own. Now, tell me about Delilah."

"Delilah is the real story. She used to be a kitchen apprentice in the Empress's Court. She got sacked for something, I don't know what. Sometime after that, Sokolov spotted her talent as a painter, and inducted her into his circle. She met Timsh…and she somehow managed to enthrall him. It was the scandal of the season, that old lecher acting like a giddy schoolboy over a painter beneath his class. He named the ship after her. She practically took him for all he had. Then it ended. First, he was obsessed with her, then absolutely terrified of her. No one has been able to figure out why."

I undid the straps securing Abigail, placed my hand on her shoulder, and transversed outside of the room. She stared at me, shocked.

"I said I was going to give you your life, and I am," I said. "But know this: Cross me, and I'll be back to take your life. Now get out of here. This place isn't safe for you anymore."

"I won't forget this," Abigail said, and ran away. In what context she meant that, I wasn't sure. Either way, she would either prove to be a valuable contact, or I would have to kill her later on. For her sake, I hope she decided that life was more important than trying to see me killed.

I transversed myself to Lurk, who had gone up into Rothwild's office. The office was a mess, with papers, books, and glass scattered everywhere. Rothwild lay slumped over his desk, blood congealing underneath his left ear. From a distance, the wound wasn't noticeable. As soon as you got up close, the wound was visible. Though I doubted anyone would come up here for a long while. Even if they did, we would be long gone by then.

"He still wouldn't talk," Lurk said. "The bastard put up quite a fight, but he was still no match for me. Did interrogating that woman, Abigail I assume, prove more useful than this lout?"

"It did," I answered. "We need to track down Barrister Arnold Timsh. He was enthralled by Delilah. He could have very useful information in regards to her."

"Timsh? No. Timsh won't. But his niece Thalia will. From what I've heard, the Timsh family is practically at war with itself. If we can get information out of anyone, it'll be Thalia," Lurk paused. "Also, sir…I should tag along when you go. I could scout out the security devices for you, since they're practically all over the Legal District. I'd be useful."

"We'll see about that," I replied. "For now, let's return home. I'll have Arissa compose a message and deliver it to Thalia."

Lurk's voice faltered after I said that. She knew I was choosing Arissa over her. "As you say, sir," she said, and transversed off.

I transversed myself back to the commerce building.

The whole while, I knew this was only the beginning. This was the largest mystery I'd ever tried to solve.

The only question on my mind was…Would I be able to solve it, or would I die trying?


	12. Delivering a Message

**Author's Note: **This chapter **contains spoilers **for the beginning of "The Knife of Dunwall" mission **"Eminent Domain."** If you **have not** completed this mission, then I advise against reading this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 12 **

**Delivering a Message**

* * *

It was an unusually cold night in the Flooded District. My brothers and I were taking what shelter we could find from the cold inside of the commerce building. We were volunteering one another for sentry duty because none of us wanted to go outside. It is rare when a night gets cold enough to bypass our industrial-leather uniforms. Normally, my brothers do not complain. Yet, they certainly were this time. I took it as they were trying to test me. I was the new commander. They wanted to see where my limits were.

_My brothers are certainly no fools. They know I am becoming exactly like our Master. Yet, I cannot tell…_

_Is it respect they have for me?_

_Or have I turned their respect for me into complete and utter fear of me?_

Kieron and I were sitting behind a toppled bookshelf in the training area. It was not exactly the warmest place we could find, though it was certainly better than nothing. This was the first time I had seen Kieron all day. He only came off of sentry duty about an hour ago.

"Our Master finally gave you the red coat, huh?" he asked, smiling.

I nodded.

"You know, I had a pretty good feeling this would happen."

"What do you mean, Kieron?" I asked inquisitively.

"I mean the fact that you became part of the chain of command. Though, I wonder quite deeply, now. Are the whispers I've heard about you true, Arissa? Has Master Daud really been grooming you to replace him this entire time?"

I hesitated about answering him. Yet, Kieron's eyes never judged me. Kieron and I had a deep trust of each other. _He is only asking an innocent question…He is genuinely curious._

I quietly sighed, but I relented the answer. "Yes. Our Master has been grooming me to replace him this entire time. He named me his successor. When he dies, I will replace him. I vowed to him that the Knife of Dunwall will never die, as long as I still draw breath," I paused. "Master Daud seemed very…relieved to have finally revealed his true intentions to me. He appeared as though he had been waiting to say it for a very long time."

"Believe me when I say I'm ecstatic for you, Arissa. I would sooner follow you to the Void than I would Lurk. Thank the Outsider our Master chose you to succeed him!"

"Speaking of Lurk," I said. "What of her, Kieron? We have not yet had the opportunity to continue our conversation from last night."

"No, we haven't. Well…let me think…" Kieron paused. "Lurk's been meeting with that strange woman practically every night for the past two weeks. That woman…she's not normal. I instantly get chills just from looking at her."

I tilted my head questioningly. "You have told me of this woman before, yet you have never described her to me."

Kieron pursed his lips, lost in thought. "She's…about an inch or two taller than you, I'd guess. Her face has sharp features, and she has short black hair that's longer than yours. She wears heavy dark makeup, and there are these…vine things that seem to travel up over her clothes, and her skin. And she wears roses."

"Wait…did you say vines _and _roses?"

"I did," he said. "Why?"

"Because my…_half-sister _had vines traveling up her body, as well. The first and only time I saw her, she was wearing multicolored roses."

Kieron fell silent for a long while. After a few minutes, he finally shook his head, sighed, and said, "Arissa, we can't keep this hidden from Master Daud any longer. If Lurk's intentions are to betray, then we _must _tell him so. It's his decision as to whether or not it's worth killing us over."

"Kieron, I know we need to tell him. It's just…" I hesitated. "Exactly that. What if he _does _decide to kill us?"

"Oh, no, don't worry. Master Daud will kill me, first. I'm not that important to him. But, hey…at least I've had a good run in this life. I can die a happy man."

"Kieron! You do not _dare _die on me! That is an order!" I lowered my voice. "I do not want to lose you."

Kieron placed his hand on my shoulder. "I came out of the Office of the Overseer with a broken ankle that still throbs and pops strangely on occasion…I personally like to think I'm pretty impossible to kill."

"You never talk about what they did to you, and I cannot blame you for it. Yet, we all still hear Vladka screaming in his sleep."

Kieron lowered his head. "I…Yeah, I know. Truthfully, I don't think he'll ever stop screaming. I'd say it's almost worth killing him just to put him out of his misery."

"That is not our decision to make."

"No, you're right. It isn't. Yet, it's our decision to make for what we tell Master Daud. Honestly, Arissa, I think our Master confides enough trust in you that he'll listen to you. He wouldn't have named you his successor, otherwise…"

"That still does not mean much, though. Our Master might still be willing to kill me if I overstep the wrong line."

"Then what other options do we have?"

I shook my head and sighed. "I do not know. At the moment, I have Aeolos, Devon, Ardan, and Galia out searching for anything we can possibly use to fortify our defenses. With any luck, they will at least return with _something _useable."

"We could just kill Lurk and the woman she's been meeting with."

"And that would practically guarantee our Master kills us. Besides, you are _lucky _that Master Daud let me decide your fate after the argument you and Lurk got into three weeks ago!"

Kieron sighed. "Good point…"

Kieron and I heard a transversal from outside of the room. I heard the floorboards of the commerce building creaking as someone walked towards us. Feeling a presence behind me, I looked up to see that Master Daud was peering down at Kieron and I. He was shaking his head.

"I get the feeling I'm interrupting something," Master Daud said. "Is there yet another thing the two of you aren't telling me?"

Kieron and I looked at each other, then we stood up, brushed the dirt off of our uniforms, and faced our Master.

"No, Master Daud," Kieron answered. "We're actually hiding in here because of the cold. Honest. Ask Thomas. I just came off sentry duty an hour ago."

"_Riiiight_," Master Daud murmured. He spoke up. "Arissa, I have need of you. Come with me."

"Yes, Master," I said.

Master Daud transversed away, and after a few moments, I transversed to him. He had brought me up to his quarters. He walked behind his desk and began searching a stack of papers for something. I stood in front of the desk,

"How did the investigation of the Rothwild Slaughterhouse go, Master?" I asked him.

"It's been established that Delilah is actually a person. She was originally a kitchen apprentice at Dunwall Tower. Then, she became a painter in Sokolov's circle," Master Daud said. "She even had some kind of relationship with Barrister Arnold Timsh. So, I intend to pay the good barrister a visit. However, I doubt he's going to be willing to talk with any of us."

"What would you have us do, then?"

"I want you to deliver a message to the Barrister's niece, Thalia. She still lives up in the Estate District, as you should know."

"Master, I am assuming when you mean "deliver a message" that you mean a message written on a piece of paper, and not the kind of message where I beat the girl into submission until she divulges all the information you require?"

"Yes. I mean a message written on paper." Master Daud produced a blank piece of paper from the stack, and handed it to me, along with a pen. "Your hand is slightly more sophisticated than mine, so I want you to write it. That, and no one's seen your hand before, so Thalia won't know the difference. This is what I want you to write down…"

I swiftly wrote down everything Master Daud told me to write. As he spoke, he was also watching me intently. _There must be something he knows about me from my former life that he has not told me…There must be a reason why I can write this good. _Once I was done with the letter, I started to laugh, seemingly for no reason. Master Daud was glaring at me.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"It is not you I am laughing at, Master," I answered. "It is just the thought of what I am about to do. If I am lucky, Thalia will not sic the entire City Watch on me."

"Even so, I'd expect that to end rather badly for the Watchmen, not for you."

"Well…this shall be the story of their lives, will it not, Master? A Whaler walks into the room and says, 'I am not here to kill you, but here simply to deliver a message to you.'"

"Are you complaining, Arissa?"

I shook my head. "No, Master. I find it amusing. Though, either way, it is also an observation."

Once the ink on the paper looked dry enough, I carefully folded the letter in half and placed it safely within my bolt pouch.

"I will return soon," I said as I put on my vapor mask. "And hopefully without any bullet holes in me. A stab wound was enough for me, thank you very much."

"I'm sure it was," Master Daud replied. "Good luck, Arissa."

I transversed to the Estate District.

* * *

I carefully transversed from rooftop to rooftop, searching for the estate of Thalia Timsh. There were quite a lot of Watchmen in the district, so I was taking extra caution not to be seen. The last thing I wanted to do was unintentionally alert the Watchmen, and send the high-borns cowering into their holes, their saferooms, for false protection.

It was tricky to navigate the Estate District. It was massive, and practically all of the estates looked identical to one another. Trying to find Thalia's was proving…difficult.

It ultimately took me two hours before I finally found which estate was hers.

Crouching on a rooftop across the street from Thalia's estate, I memorized the patrol pattern of the City Watchmen and began searching for a good point of infiltration. It was nearing midnight, so Thalia would undoubtedly be in her bedroom by now…Which would also happen to be the most guarded room in the entire household.

I was tapping my fingers against the hilt of my blade, deep in thought. I always hated having to perform contracts non-lethally. Yet, in this case, I had to. I was trying to get Thalia to _willingly _work with us. I doubted murdering her bodyguards would convince her to help us, so I needed to be able to sneak in, and _not _kill a soul…

I scrutinized Thalia's estate further. That was when I realized she actually had a balcony that appeared to lead to a bedroom. It had to, as it was the only balcony on the entire estate.

Well, the balcony would work as an infiltration point…

I shrugged. What was the worst thing that could happen?

I transversed myself onto the balcony and peered inside, using the keyhole. Thalia's room was extravagant, from what I could see. Her bedroom was currently dimly lit with only candlelight. Thalia herself was sitting at a vanity table, brushing out her red hair and humming to herself in front of its small mirror.

I carefully tested the knob of the door to see if it was locked. Finding that it was not, I slowly opened the door to prevent it from making a sound, and I slipped through, closing it behind me and locking it. Thalia was still completely oblivious to my presence.

I walked up behind Thalia and stood there, my arms behind my back and standing at full attention. Thalia finally saw my reflection in the mirror, and she let out a surprised shriek. She fell from the stool she was sitting on and scrambled away from me, until she had backed herself into a corner.

"Hello Thalia," I said calmly. "I will say this only once: Call your guards, and we will have a problem. However, you should consider yourself fortunate. Because on this night, I am here only to speak with you."

"How…fortunate for me, then," Thalia replied. "What do you want with me, assassin? You claim to be here to only talk to me, but I'm willing to bet my uncle hired you to get rid of me. Didn't he?"

"Thalia, if I were here to kill you, you would already be lying on the floor with your throat slit. You and I both know that is true." When Thalia did not respond, I continued. "No. Your uncle did not hire me to assassinate you. I have come here to deliver a message to you, from my Master."

"Your Master?" she pursed her lips. "Daud, I would assume?"

"Yes," I answered.

I reached into my bolt pouch, producing the letter Master Daud had had me write. I placed it down on Thalia's vanity table and took a few steps away from it. Then, I gestured for her to pick it up and read it. After a few moments of hesitation, she walked over to the vanity table and picked up the letter. She scrutinized it for a long while, before she finally spoke again.

"So…Daud wants to know about Delilah Copperspoon? How…Interesting," Thalia said. "What has Delilah done to Daud, if she's incurred the wrath of the legendary Knife of Dunwall and his Whalers?"

"Delilah has done nothing to us yet," I replied. "We are simply investigating as to what she may be."

"I don't buy that, but I don't expect you to talk about it, either," Thalia paused. "All right. I'll help your Master. I will tell him everything he wants to know about Delilah Copperspoon. However, my knowledge has a price."

"As I thought it would," I said. What are your terms?"

"You came to me because you probably know that my uncle is bewitched by Delilah. So, I require only two things of you and your Master. One: Get rid of my uncle. Two: Bring me his last will and testament. In exchange, I'll tell your Master everything I know about Delilah Copperspoon…And I will also pay you cold hard coin for your trouble. I desire that our meeting place be at the docks, in the Legal District, once the contract is completed."

I considered her terms. I was acting on behalf of my Master. I did not want to do anything I had a feeling would anger him. However, I think he would also agree to this.

"Your terms are agreeable, Thalia Timsh," I said. "I will relay them to my Master. The contract will be completed within the next day and a half."

"Very well. Now, I must ask you to leave. I will be traveling to the Legal District to visit my uncle tomorrow, and I must rest. By all means, please do kill him, even if I am at his side. No one will suspect me capable of such an act. I'll make sure to put on a show for the guards."

I bowed. "A pleasure doing business with you, Thalia Timsh," I said, then transversed out of the room and back to the Flooded District.

* * *

Master Daud was still standing behind his desk. Once more, I found him scribbling in his journal. He looked up at me when I approached the desk and asked, "How did it go?"

"Thalia Timsh is willing to work with us. She has hired us to eliminate her uncle, and bring her his will and testament. In exchange, she will tell you what you want to know about Delilah Copperspoon, as she called her. When the contract is complete, she wishes to meet at the docks in the Legal District. I told her we would have the contract completed within the next day and a half."

"Delilah…Copperspoon?" Master Daud said. "What kind of last name is _Copperspoon?_"

"I had the same exact thought, Master," I replied. "Are the terms of the contract acceptable for you?"

Master Daud nodded. "They are," he paused. Then, his voice became suddenly stern. "Arissa, I have a question for you. And this time, I expect an answer."

"Yes, Master?"

"This is the final time I'm going to ask you what you and Kieron have been up to. You two have been acting far too strangely for my liking. I'm beginning to wonder if you're planning something…traitorous, perhaps."

"No, Master!" I said, dismayed. "It is not traitorous, I swear!"

"Then _what_ have you been hiding from me?"

"We think…" I hesitated. "Kieron and I think that Lurk is going to betray us. She has been meeting with a very strange woman every night for the past two weeks or so. From what Kieron can tell, the conversations are…not boding well for us."

Master Daud's gaze was intensely serious. Even though I was still wearing my mask, I knew he could sense how I felt at that moment. He had me right where he wanted me. All I could do was look away from him, shamefully.

"That is a very serious accusation, Arissa," he said darkly. "Do you have any actual _proof _to back up that accusation of treason?"

"I…No, Master," I said quietly. "Yet, Master, please! If Kieron and I have done something wrong…Take it out on me. I am responsible for Kieron's actions. He has been following Lurk with my permission, I swear it."

Master Daud stayed silent for a long while. Then, eventually, he sighed. "This is what you've been hiding from me, hmm? I understand that neither you nor your brothers trust Lurk, but do you honestly think she's that stupid?"

"Yes, Master," I said quietly once more. "And why else would she keep disappearing at nightfall? Does that not strike you as odd?"

Master Daud seemed uncertain how to respond. For a long while, he said nothing. Then, after what seemed like ages, he spoke. "There's a crate of arc mines somewhere around here. Take them and place them around the Rail Station and Central Rudshore," he said. "If you're right about this, then I want to have the base prepared, in case something happens while I'm away."

"What is an arc mine, Master?" I asked.

"It's a miniature version of an arc pylon. Make sure each of you touch the charger for the mines. I really don't want to have to replace an entire brotherhood. Finding talent for this business is proving more difficult than it should be."

I nodded. "I will remember that. Will you be taking Lurk with you to the Legal District?"

"We'll see. For now, I want you to stay here and prepare the district for a possible attack. If you and Kieron are really looking to keep busy, then that ought to do it, don't you think?"

I lowered my head. "Yes, Master. I am sorry if we have overstepped any bounds. We were…only doing what we thought was right."

"Next time, Arissa," Master Daud said, "Don't keep things secret from me. You'll only end up regretting it the next time."

"As you say, Master. I will not make the same mistake next time."

"I certainly hope you won't. You're dismissed. Get to work."

"Yes, Master," I replied, and went off to search for the crate of arc mines.

_At least he did not kill me…Though, I have a feeling I will not be so lucky the next time…_


End file.
